How can I tell which beauty products or cosmetics are safe to use on a wheat or gluten free diet?

Generally beauty product/cosmetic manufacturers tend to use the word "triticale" instead of "wheat" in their ingredients lists.

Before purchasing a beauty/cosmetic product you should therefore always read the ingredients list on the packaging. Sometimes it's so small it's impossible, so we'd suggest that you carry a tiny magnifying glass with you on shopping trips. It may look a little weird, but it's preferable to buying something that may iritate your skin, or make you sick if you suffer from a wheat allergy/intolerance or celiac disease.

Some beauty products do contain allergy information e.g. contains wheat, however they are still quite rare.

There are also many other alternative names for wheat, but generally more likely to be found in food products.

Wheat-Free.org says: When we go to the hair salon we tend to not make a big deal about the stylist using products that have wheat in them as it's a one-off situation. We just don't touch our hair, eyes, mouth etc with our hands until we've had a chance to wash the products out completely. This will not however be a suitable option for people whose skin reacts to wheat. We would also never allow any massage oils or body lotions to be applied that contain wheat.

Last updated: 10/24/2013