PSA: You Don't Need to Use Gluten-Free Beauty Products if You Have Celiac Disease
Science shows there’s no reason to toss your favorite lipstick.
A few months ago, I got into an argument with someone on the celiac subreddit. They claimed their dermatologist told them they needed to use gluten-free mascara because gluten could be absorbed through their eyeballs and cause a celiac reaction. I was the one who got downvoted when I said this was patently false and couldn’t actually happen. (Insert eye roll emoji here.)
Around the same time, I went back and forth with someone in a celiac support group on Facebook who was adamant that her dry shampoo was causing a celiac-related skin reaction—even though, as I explained to her multiple times, she would need to eat her dry shampoo for this to happen and she was probably sensitive to some other ingredient in the formula.
As a former beauty editor (and still occasional beauty writer), misinformation on this topic upsets me almost as much as when people say celiacs can eat the gluten in Europe because it’s “different.” Despite what you may read online, the truth—as backed by science—is this: Gluten can’t be absorbed through the skin—and applying it topically won’t cause a celiac reaction.
Ahead, I got the full scoop from Selena Devries, RD, a British Columbia-based celiac dietitian living with celiac disease, about why you don’t need to use gluten-free beauty products.
Table of contents:
Gluten-free beauty products 101
Devries says it’s possible for beauty products to have ingredients derived from gluten in them. According to the Gluten Intolerance Group, here are a few common ingredients you may come across in your beauty formulas that could contain gluten:
AMP-isostearoyl hydrolzyed wheat protein
Enzyme-modified gluten
Hydrolyzed wheat protein (HWP)
Hydrolyzed wheat gluten
Hydrolyzed wheat starch
Triticum lipids
Triticum vulgare
Wheat amino acids
Wheat bran
Wheat bran extract
Wheat germ extract
Wheat germ glyceride
Wheat germ oil or Tocopherol
Wheat hydrolysate
Wheat peptides
Wheat starch
Barley extract
Hordeum vulgare extract
Malt extract
Secale cereal
Avena sativa
Avena sativa extract
Sodium lauroyl oat amino acid
As I reported for aSweatLife previously, gluten-free beauty products don’t contain any of the above ingredients derived from wheat, barley, rye, or oats (which often come into contact with gluten during manufacturing).
Why celiacs don’t need to use gluten-free beauty products
Let’s set the record straight: “Celiacs absolutely do not need to worry about any type of gluten content in their beauty products,” says Devries. This comes down to the science of celiac.
As Devries explains:
The gluten protein is too large and can’t be absorbed via the skin. “Anything applied to the skin will only stay on the skin itself,” she says.
Even if beauty products contained gluten, the amount is so negligible it’s not a celiac concern. “This includes all beauty products including lipstick, chapstick, or lip gloss,” she says.
That’s right: Even if gluten was in your favorite lip product, it would be in such a small amount that it wouldn’t be enough to cause a celiac reaction. Devries points to a 2012 study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics that shows this.
The researchers tested four lip products and two face/body lotions, all of which contained an ingredient derived from gluten or regular oats. “All of the products tested came back to be completely celiac-safe,” says Devries. “In fact, there was no qualifiable gluten found in them.”
For the sake of this newsletter, let’s pretend that gluten was in lipstick and that it was above the celiac-safe threshold of 20 parts per million (ppm). Say a lipstick had 100 ppm of gluten.
Using the same math she used in my previous newsletter about the gluten risk in coffee, Devries says a tube of lipstick with 100 ppm of gluten would contain .407 milligrams of gluten. If you break that down further and assume you get 100 applications per tube of lipstick, you would ingest .004 milligrams of gluten per application.
“I think we can all agree that this isn’t even a speck when we compare it to the celiac safe threshold, which is 10 milligrams of gluten daily,” says Devries.
Of course, there’s also the chance you could accidentally ingest cosmetics if you put your fingers in your mouth after applying a product with your hands—but as the National Celiac Association notes, “it is probably a far stretch that you would ingest enough gluten this way.”
Why your skin reaction has nothing to do with celiac disease
Remember: Celiac symptoms only occur when you eat gluten. While some celiacs experience a painful skin rash called dermatitis herpetiformis (DH), again, this rash only happens if you ingest gluten. Celiac symptoms—including DH—aren’t caused by the topical application of gluten in cosmetics.
It’s totally possible to have a skin reaction to something in your beauty products—but this would be completely unrelated to celiac disease. “Aside from gluten, it’s important to understand that there are many ingredients in beauty products that can cause reactions, such as fragrances, latex in makeup sponges or brushes, nickel, dyes, or other preservatives,” says Devries.
It’s also worth pointing out that some people do have a skin reaction when applying gluten topically—but this is also a separate issue from celiac disease. For example, the American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology states that people who are allergic to wheat could have an allergic reaction from cosmetics containing gluten.
“Aside from gluten, it’s important to understand that there are many ingredients in beauty products that can cause reactions such as fragrances, latex in makeup sponges or brushes, nickel, dyes, or other preservatives,” Selena Devries, RD, celiac dietian
The bottom line on gluten-free beauty products
I personally don’t check if my beauty products have gluten in them anymore as this was causing me unneeded stress at the beginning of my diagnosis. I already spend so much time thinking about food and planning my meals—why add something else on top of that if I don’t absolutely have to?
It’s been a big relief to not have to decipher a beauty product’s ingredient list or spend time reaching out to brands to confirm whether or not a formula contains gluten. That said, the decision to use gluten-free beauty products comes down to personal preference at the end of the day.
While I have less anxiety now that I’ve stopped caring about gluten in my beauty products, other celiacs feel the opposite and would prefer to avoid gluten at all costs in their beauty routines for peace of mind.
And if you have young kids—who, let’s be real, are probably putting their hands in their mouths frequently—then it makes sense if you want to ensure any topical products, like shampoo or sunscreen, that you use on them are gluten-free.
The bottom line: “Ultimately, the most important thing for people with celiac disease is to do what feels right for them,” says Devries. “If using gluten-free cosmetics helps you feel more comfortable in your daily life, then it's perfectly reasonable to make that choice. However, from a scientific standpoint, it's not medically necessary.”
Are you surprised to learn you don’t have to use gluten-free beauty products if you have celiac disease? What myths would you like me to debunk next? Drop a comment and let me know!
Sources:
Selena Devries, RD, a British Columbia-based celiac dietitian
aSweatLife. Is a Gluten-Free Beauty Routine Right for You? https://asweatlife.com/2022/11/gluten-free-beauty-products/
Gluten Intolerance Group. 5 Facts About Gluten-Free Skin Care. https://gluten.org/2021/02/11/gluten-free-skin-care/
Beyond Celiac. Myths about Celiac Disease, Gluten Sensitivity and the Gluten-Free Diet. https://www.beyondceliac.org/celiac-disease/myths/
Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. 2012 Sep;112(9):1316-1323. Gluten in cosmetics: is there a reason for concern? https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22939435/
National Celiac Association. Do I have to use gluten-free skincare and body products? https://nationalceliac.org/celiac-disease-questions/do-i-have-to-use-gluten-free-skincare-products/
Mayo Clinic. Celiac disease. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/celiac-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20352220
Cleveland Clinic. Dermatitis Herpetiformis. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21460-dermatitis-herpetiformis
Everyday Health. 11 Skin Care Ingredients That Can Trigger Allergic Reactions. https://www.everydayhealth.com/pictures/skin-care-ingredients-allergic-reactions/
American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology. Wheat. https://acaai.org/allergies/allergic-conditions/food/wheat-gluten/
Don't laugh, but I've gotten into arguments with people about gluten-free mascara, too!
this is super useful, thank you!