What’s the Deal with Gluten-Free Skin Care?
When our family first found out how common gluten is in skin care products, we had a really difficult time sorting through all the products on the market to find items that we could trust would be gluten-free. Keep reading for the reasons why someone should switch to gluten free skin care (including if Celiacs need gluten-free skin care products), how to identify gluten in skin care, where to buy it, followed by a HUGE list of cosmetic brands that manufacture gluten-free skin care by category:
- Face & Body Wash,
- Soap,
- Moisturizer & Body Lotion,
- Anti-aging products,
- Sunscreen,
- Chapstick/Lip Balm,
- Deodorant,
- Kids’ Skin care,
- and Shaving Essentials.
Do I Need Gluten Free Skin Care?
People choose to eat a gluten-free diet for a multitude of reasons: Celiac Disease, allergies, sensitivities, and intolerances. But does that mean that you should stick to gluten-free personal care items as well?
Personally, our family is gluten-free due to Celiac Disease, but we only buy gluten-free personal care items due to the risk of accidental ingestion.
While it’s intuitive that items like lip balm or chap stick would easily become ingested when licking lips or eating, other personal care items can be accidentally ingested in a multitude of ways:
- lotion can be transferred when preparing food or eating with your hands,
- sunscreen can enter your mouth while sweating,
- you can even accidentally ingest your partner’s personal care items through kissing!
Others cannot tolerate topical gluten exposure due to allergy or skin sensitivity. More recent studies have even shown that conditions such as eczema may be exasperated by gluten.
Dermatitis Herpetiformis is also known by other names such as Duhring’s disease or DH. Most people with DH also have Celiac disease. In DH, you experience a similar autoimmune response as you do with Celiac Disease, but it shows up on your skin as a painful rash with blisters.
If you’re someone who may need gluten-free skin care, keep reading for how to read skin care labels to identify possible sources of gluten AND for recommended gluten-free skin care products!
**Did you know there’s even gluten in toothpaste?? Click here for a gluten-free toothpaste brand list!
How do I Find Gluten in Skin Care?
Reading skin care labels to locate gluten-containing ingredients is beyond difficult. There are just so many complicated ingredient names that are derived from gluten containing grains.
Some of the more common ingredients used in manufacturing skin care that contain gluten are:
- Avena sativa (this is a fancy name for oats—unless the product is specified as gluten-free, there is a high risk of it containing gluten),
- Hydrolyzed malt extract,
- Hydrolyzed wheat gluten,
- Phytosphingosine extract,
- Samino peptide complex,
- Secale cereale (rye) seed flour,
- Triticum vulgare (wheat) gluten (this could also be labeled as an extract, oil, or starch),
- and many, many, more!
Beyond directly containing gluten as ingredients, many skin care products are produced on machinery that also processes gluten!
With the difficulty that comes with understanding personal care labels, it is MUCH easier to stick with brands who intentionally create their items to be gluten-free. Many of these companies even go the extra step to manufacture certified gluten-free skin care.
**Do you want to know more about what it means to for a product to be certified gluten-free? Click here to learn more!
Keep reading to see a list of trusted gluten-free skin care brands by category and where to buy them. I compiled this list for you by searching manufacturer websites for solid gluten-free manufacturing practices or certification and by contacting customer service directly.
I am an Arbonne Independent Consultant and may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. This post also contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. My full disclosure isn’t that interesting, but you can find it here.
Where Do You Buy Gluten-Free Skin Care?
There are many stores and boutiques that sell gluten-free products. While your local drug store or box store may sell some products, I find it much easier to shop for gluten-free personal care products online. Some of my favorite websites to shop for gluten-free personal care are:
- Amazon.com –Amazon has almost everything you could ever want to find! Just be sure to check the product images to see if it has a direct gluten-free label on the product. If the product description on the page states “gluten-free” but you cannot find a label on the actual product, double check the manufacturer website to guarantee that the product is gluten-free.
- Arbonne.com — Every product from Arbonne is labeled gluten-free and many are also certified gluten-free. Plus, all products are vegan certified. Learn more about Arbonne here.
- Brandless.com – If you’ve never browsed Brandless, please do! They make it easy to search by specialty (including “gluten-free” but also lots of other things ‘free’ too) and their products are an excellent value for the price. If you’ve never ordered from Brandless before, click this promo link to save $6 on your first order!
- Thrive Market — Thrive Market is an online specialty retailer that also makes it easy to search by specialty. The Thrive Market brand itself has many gluten-free skin care options and they are definitely a good deal, but the true perk of Thrive Market over Brandless is that you can purchase name brands. Thrive Market is often cheaper than Amazon prices and always offers promotions and with each qualifying order you receive free samples of products. Click here for a free 30-day trial and 25% off your order from Thrive Market.
Keep reading for my recommendations for gluten-free beauty products–but also be sure to click the button below to gain access to our FREE gluten-free resources including a restaurant card, menu planner, and more!
Gluten Free Face Wash
- Arbonne runs the gamut for facial care with a cleanser or toner for almost any facial need. Click here to see the options!
- Brandless sells a Grapefruit Facial Cleanser and also an assortment of Facial wipes for on the go!
- Ecco Bella products are all gluten-free. They have a fairly broad facial care line which contains not only cleanser , but toner and make up products that are also all gluten-free. Browse Ecco Bella products here.
- Pangea Organics carries not only gluten-free, vegan, and non-GMO facewash, but toner and other facial care items. Click here to see their facial care lines.
- Vanicream is an affordable option for sensitive skin. The formula is not only gluten-free, but free of other chemicals, such as sulfates, often found in skin care that can be harsh on the most sensitive skin. It also has excellent reviews on Amazon.
Gluten Free Body Wash
- Arbonne’s Rescue & Renew Detox Body Scrub and Body Wash are fantastic with a crisp citrus scent. For a moisturizing wash, Arbonne has their Botaniques Papaya wash. Find all of Arbonne’s body wash products here.
- Brandless sells a body wash in Green Tea and Aloe scent plus a Lemon Verbena Body Scrub—both are highly rated.
- Pangea Organics Body Wash is not only gluten-free, but vegan and non-GMO. It comes in three scents: Canadian Pine & White Sage, Pyrenees Lavender & Cardamom, and Italian White Sage, Geranium, Yarrow. Click here to shop on Amazon.
- Thrive Market brand body wash is gluten-free, vegan, and paraben free and very affordable. It comes in scents such as Bulgarian Lavender and Coconut Vanilla.
Learn more about Thrive Market and how it saves me money here!
Gluten-Free Soap
- Arbonne has both bar and liquid soap options. There is a Charcoal Soap for a bar option and a Passion Fruit scented liquid soap option.
- Brandless sells a variety of liquid hand-soaps in a variety of scents including a gel, moisturizing, and foaming hand wash.
- Dessert Essence soap is an excellent (and affordable) gluten-free and vegan bar soap that comes in a number of scents including lavender and tea tree.
- Kiss My Face is another brand with a number of gluten-free & vegan bar soap options including olive-oil or coconut oil based soaps. Browse their full-line here.
Gluten Free Moisturizer
- Arbonne has an array of options for facial moisturizers. You’re guaranteed to find something that fits your skin care needs and your budget. My favorite is the Calm Gentle Moisturizer, but you can browse them all here.
- BeeFriendly created a gluten-free face & eye cream that is highly rated! They have a multitude of other gluten-free products in their skin care line as well. Check them out here.
- Brandless sells both a highly rated facial lotion and a night cream. Browse them here.
- Gabriel Organics not only has gluten-free and vegan cosmetics, but facial care made with sea minerals. Browse the full Gabriel Organics skin care line here.
Gluten Free AntiAging Skin Care
- Arbonne features anti-aging products for both men and women. I use the RE9 collection for women daily. Products can be purchased individually or as a set. Browse their full anti-aging lines here.
- Foxbrim Naturals created gluten-free facial creams, toners, and more specifically to target antiaging care. View their products here.
- Gabriel Organics has gluten-free and vegan skin care specifically formulated with antiaging principles in mind. See their antiaging products here.
Gluten Free Lotion
- Arbonne has multiple gluten-free body and hand lotions. My favorite is their Shea Butter line. My whole family uses the body lotion (even the kids) and the large bottle lasts months.
- Brandless sells a variety of gluten-free lotions including body lotion, body butter, hand creams, and foot creams. Shop Brandless here.
- Ecco Bella has a vanilla scented gluten-free body lotion made with shea butter that smells amazing.
- Thrive Market brand body lotion is gluten-free & vegan and contains botanicals like shea butter and aloe. It comes in scents such as Bulgarian Lavender and Coconut Vanilla.
Learn more about Thrive Market and how it saves me money here!
Gluten Free Sunscreen
- Kiss My Face has a couple specific sunscreens that are gluten-free including this one that my kids use. Be sure to check their manufacturer site regularly to ensure that manufacturing processes haven’t changed!
- Raw Elements sunscreen is 100% organic and completely gluten, soy, and nut free. It is probably the best choice for waterproof gluten-free sunscreen there is! It comes in many different SPFs and styles including face + body and tinted moisturizer with spf.
Gluten Free Chapstick & Lip Balm
- Arbonne’s lip balm is an excellent pick for a high-end lip balm. It feels like luxury. Check it out here. Arbonne also has a whole lip therapy set consisting of both a lip scrub and lip salve made of shea and coconut oil with hints of vanilla. Shop this set here.
- Raw Elements has lip balm that’s 100% organic and gluten, soy & nut free which also contains SPF.
- Thrive Market’s lip balm is available both in scents (like vanilla mint) and unscented. I use the vanilla mint regularly and love it! It is gluten-free and vegan and definitely affordable.
Learn more about Thrive Market and how it saves me money here!
Gluten Free Deodorant
- Brandless sells almost everything…. including deodorant that’s gluten-free. It’s also aluminum free and comes in two scents: Lavandin and Citrus Neroli.
- Lume is my current favorite deodorant (and is my choice out of this list). You can only order it directly from the company’s website, but I’m telling you, it’s fantastic (note: I’ve tried all the other deodorants listed in this guide… and this is by far the best, in my opinion!)
- Primal Pit Paste is an all-natural deodorant that comes in many scents including lavender, lemongrass, and coconut lime. You can purchase it in a tub or in a deodorant stick. Browse all Primal Pit Paste deodorant products here.
- Tom’s deodorants for men and women are all gluten-free. While you can likely find this in your local drug store, you can also find it on both Amazon or Thrive Market.
Gluten Free Skin Care for Kids
- Arbonne produces a complete baby care line consisting of diaper rash cream, shampoo/body wash, baby lotion, and even 30 spf baby sunscreen. You can buy it together as a pack or the pieces individually.
- Brandless has a full line of gluten-free and fragrance-free baby care including diaper paste, baby lotion, baby shampoo and more!
- Clean Kids Naturally is a line of skin care created by Gabriel Organics specifically formulated for kids with fun scents! Click here to see their skin care line.
- Kiss My Face also has a gluten-free line for kids—most of which is gluten-free (their website provides a list of all gluten-free items under the FAQs. It is the majority of their products!) Browse the kids’ line here.
Gluten Free Shaving Care / Cream
- Arbonne has both a shaving cream and after-shave for men. The shave cream is conditioning and can be used either with or without water.
- Badger has an expansive line of gluten-free products, but features a number of shaving & grooming products for men including After Shave Oil, Beard Oil(this is what my husband uses for beard oil!), and Mustache Wax.
- Brandless has a Green Tea & Aloe scented Shave Gel. It’s definitely affordable, but doesn’t lather up the way other shave gels tend to.
- Kiss my Face moisture shave is gluten-free. It is available on Amazon here, but can often be found much cheaper at Thrive Market.
Have you tried any of the products above? Comment below and tell us your favorites!
Also, this is not an exhaustive list, so if you have a gluten-free product you LOVE that I left off the list, please comment below and share it with us!
As always, don’t forget to share or pin this post so you can find it when you need it.
Other posts you may like:
- The mega list of gluten-free toothpaste brands
- What gluten-free products are on Thrive Market?
- Is Arbonne a gluten-free company?
- My favorite gluten-free products!
Arbonne’s Botaniques Papaya wash is my FAV. <3
I’m so happy you love it! Thanks for sharing with us!