Can your cleaning and care products contain gluten?

At this point we all know one person who is on a gluten-free diet! It’s kind of strange, although gluten-free products and diets are so inescapable these days, most of us don’t fully understand the underlying condition…Coeliacs disease.

People who have Coeliacs disease have an allergy to gluten that can be anything from mildly irritating to life threatening! Gluten is found in food, as well as certain
drinks like beer and whisky, cleaning & personal care products.

For Coeliacs who are severely allergic to gluten, ANY product that contains gluten can be reason for concern. Shampoos and body washes are examples of everyday products that can/may contain gluten, so, while not ingested directly, some people with Coeliacs choose to avoid them. Normally, when discussing gluten-free products, we don’t usually expect shampoos, conditioners or body washes to contain wheat, barley and rye products!

Doctors at Mayo Clinic in US say that your body does not absorb gluten through the skin, however having said that, based on anecdotal evidence there are those that insist sensitivity to gluten can be so severe that external, physical contact can
cause symptoms such as rashes or puffy skin where they have applied the products including gluten.

You’re a champion at label reading, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to sniff out
gluten in your everyday cleaning, personal & hair care products, right Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to identify gluten in personal care product
labels. Gluten may be lurking behind a variety of names that are tough to read
and even more difficult to pronounce!

Some alternative names:
Wheat: Laurdimonium Hydroxypropyl, Triticum Lipids, Triticale
Oats: Avena Sativa, Sodium Lauroyl
Barley: Beta Glucan, Hordeum Distichon, Phytosphingosine Extract

It is a personal choice what you put on your body, just as what you put in it, so
it’s important to “listen” to your body. If you are using products that contain
gluten be mindful for potential signs of a reaction. Symptoms include rashes, bumps near the hairline or back of the neck, or other irritations on your skin. Please always do a patch test on a small part of your skin with ANY new product you are using if highly allergic, this is a great practise to continue for safety.

enviroCare Body Wash, Body & Hair Cleanser, Hand Wash, Hand Lotion, Shampoo, Conditioner, Bubble Bath & our Sensitive options of all products are safe for Coeliacs. Our cleaning range has zero gluten.