“We field a large number of inquiries from consumers seeking gluten-free cosmetics and personal care products” said Shanta Krinsky, PR director of Logona Cosmetics, adding that many people with a gluten-intolerance “want to exercise extreme caution, not just with the foods they eat, but with the “foods” they put on their skin.”
Coeliac UK, a charity offering advice for people with the autoimmune disease triggered by gluten, estimates the proportion of UK sufferers to be around one in 100. With only one in eight sufferers being diagnosed, under-diagnosis is also a significant problem.
However, a spokesperson for the charity said that a reaction occurs only when gluten is ingested, and not through skin contact alone.
Reaction to gluten results from ingestion
The same is true for people with dermatitis herpetiformis, a skin disorder which results from eating gluten and not through contact with the skin. If a reaction arises from applying a product to the skin which contains gluten, it is likely to be due to an allergic reaction to one or more of the product’s ingredients.
This would suggest that those with a gluten-intolerance can use topical personal care and cosmetic products containing gluten without a reaction occurring, which in turn would negate the need for such products.
However, given that the average woman ingests an estimated 4lb of lipstick in a lifetime, it is appropriate to question whether the existence of gluten-free lipsticks and lip balms responds to a real demand from a health point of view.
Coeliac said that even if lipsticks and lip balms contain ingredients derived from a gluten-containing cereal, it is unlikely that people would ingest enough of the product in question to cause a response.
Gluten-free cosmetic launches on the rise
Nevertheless, the number of gluten-free lip product launches over the last few years has increased from one in 2007 to ten in 2009, according to market researcher Mintel. In total, 17 such products have been launched since 2007.
“Lipsticks and lip glosses have a much higher profile for those seeking gluten-free products because of the direct connection to the normal digestive tract,” Krinsky said
In total, 139 gluten-free color cosmetics and 516 gluten- free personal care products have been launched since 2005 according to the latest figures from Mintel.
Although there is debate over whether gluten-free personal care and cosmetic products are strictly necessary, there is certainly increasing consumer demand which is being recognized by manufacturers such as Logona.
As Krinsky remarked: “’better safe than sorry’ is a reasonable approach when dealing with something as devastating as celiac disease”.