Gluten-Free Lipstick: Are Your Kisses Gluten-Free?
"It has been said that a women eats up to four pounds of lipstick in her lifetime," says Kristin Adams, founder of Afterglow Cosmetics. And I would imagine that even men ingest some amount transferred via a kiss. Considering the laundry list of toxic chemicals that go into many commercial brands, this is quite a jarring fact. But what may be the most disturbing, at least to those who are gluten sensitive like you and me, is that many lipsticks and glosses may also contain gluten.
Using safer, natural cosmetics is a personal choice that I firmly believe in, but using gluten-free lipstick is simply a no-brainer as someone who is severely gluten intolerant. In this article we'll cover some of the reasons that your lipstick should be gluten free and share some insights from one of my favorite founders in the beauty industry, Kristin Adams, of Afterglow Cosmetics:
Many Lipsticks Contain Gluten: Some gluten-containing ingredients can be fairly easy to identify in cosmetics (provided an ingredient list is readily available), such as: hydrolyzed wheat protein/gluten/starch/bran/germ/amino acids, barley extract, fermented grain extract, oat kernel/extract/protein/flour/amino acids. Though others like stearyldimoniumhydroxypropyl, samino peptide complex and phytosphingosine extract are not quite so obviously gluten-based ingredients. Of course, there are other ingredients still that should be avoided, so contacting the manufacturer, researching online, or sticking to lipsticks that are advertised as gluten-free are necessary steps before buying that perfect new shade. We are fans of the gluten-free line Afterglow Cosmetics. According to founder Kristin Adams: Both my mother and my sister have Celiac Disease. They have, of course, completely eliminated gluten from their diet. What they didn’t know was that those four pounds of lipstick they have inadvertently been eating actually contain gluten! I have formulated the entire Afterglow Cosmetics line to be 100% gluten free. Women with Celiac Disease no longer have to decrypt the ingredient labels to uncover hidden gluten. Now women can choose to shop a full line of safe, natural cosmetics that are sexy and gluten free!
- Even Trace Amounts Can Harm Your Health: Did you know that one milligram or one sixteenth of a fingernail can prevent intestinal damage caused by celiac disease from healing? In the DVD recording Unlocking the Mystery of Wheat and Gluten Intolerance, Thomas O’Bryan recounts cases demonstrating the severe risks involved with the consumption of just this teensy amount of gluten in a gluten sensitive individual.
- Make Sure Your Kisses are Gluten-Free: At Afterglow Cosmetics, it is fairly often that a call comes in from a gluten sensitive boyfriend looking for gluten-free lipstick for his girlfriend. Keeping a gluten-free kitchen and environment is an obvious choice for most people, but did you know that a simple lock of the lips can lead to an exposure to gluten? If you or your spouse/partner are gluten sensitive, protect yourself and your loved one--do your homework.
Posted 2/03/09 by Kristen Campbell, co-founder of GlutenFreeFox.com (learn more about Kristen Campbell)
