You Can Wear Makeup (Just Hold the Wheat)

Wheat, the "staff of life," is getting a pretty bad reputation these days. Gluten-intolerance is on the rise, which means no-wheat (or rye, barley, oats, or spelt), but did you know that you can develop intolerance to makeup that contains wheat as well? This means that the lovely ladies among us who've struggled with wearing makeup may be alr to wear it after all (if they want to, that is), they just need to choose the right products!

An article from Natural Solutions magazine posted on Care2.com describes a young woman who, after years of dealing with puffy eyes and rashes brought on by even the most sensitive and pure makeup, was diagnosed with gluten-intolerance.

Into the trash went all the offending cosmetics containing "hydrolyzed wheat protein," which is a form of wheat found in creams, conditioners, lipsticks and various other beauty products.

You can guess what happened: her puffy eyes de-puffed and her rashes receded.

Could going wheat-free be the next big beauty breakthrough?

If anything, it's worth a try if you've had similar issues. Here's the list of what to avoid if you think you have, or have been already diagnosed with, gluten-intolerance. (The caveat being that some dermatologists would argue that gluten in products cannot be absorbed through the skin. Again, doing your own self-test by weeding out the wheat might be more revealing.)

1. Tocopherols (vitamin E): Often extracted from wheat germ, vitamin E shows up in tons of products, from face cream and moisturizer to lipstick and eyeliner. Look for vitamin E derived from other sources, such as safflower. It's can also be listed as: mixed tocopherols; natural vitamin E; d-alpha-tocopherol; dl-a-tocopherol; tocopheryl.

2. Triticum vulgare (wheat): Whether it's the wheat protein, germ extract, or germ oil, look out for this grain found in lipsticks, moisturizers, conditioners, hair color, and shampoos. Also listed as: triticum aestivum germ oil; triticum vulgare germ oil; triticum vulgare (wheat) protein; proteins, triticum vulgare; triticum vulgare proteins, hydrolyzed wheat protein; hydrolysate; wheat protein hydrolysate; hydrolysate proteins, wheat; wheat hydrolysate proteins; glutens, enzyme-modified; wheat gluten, enzyme-modified.

3. Hordeum vulgare (barley): Both the extract and the flour can be found in creams, hair products, lip glosses, and antiperspirants and deodorants. Also listed as: hordeum vulgare extract; hordeum vulgare seed flour; hordeum distichon (barley) extract.

4. Avena sativa (oats): The flour and protein of this grain, often cross-contaminated with other grains, crops up in creams, hair products, face powders, body washes, and blushes.
Also listed as: avena sativa flour; avena sativa kernel flour; oatmeal; avena sativa extract; avena sativa kernel protein.

Read the full piece here, and clean up that beauty regimen for healthier skin!

Photo courtesy of sxc.hu