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Should you opt for gluten-free beauty?

It's all the rage right now. But the trend may not be all that it's cracked up to be

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"Is this gluten-free?"

It's a question typically meant for the dining table - but should you be asking your beauty bag the same? Gluten-free food products have become widespread and very common over the last few months. After all, it's a lesser-known fact that gluten can hide in your cosmetics and skincare products too. Doesn't make sense? It will by the time you get to the end of this page.

Food trends trickling into the beauty industry is nothing new: in the last year or two alone, we've seen coconut oil beauty products, foodie face masks, and activated charcoal cleansers make their way to the beauty top charts and now gluten-free beauty is the most talked about beauty trend.

Gluten-free beauty products basically come to the rescue of those who have been diagnosed with gluten intolerance or celiac disease. So, say, you are allergic to wheat, barley, rye, etc, you can give this one a try. However, keep in mind that the actual gluten molecule itself is too large to pass through the skin barrier so there's no reason to worry about getting it into your body unless you have a skin lesion of some sort. It is worth considering if you think there's a good chance you might accidentally ingest your mascara or bite down on your lipstick (the latter of which might actually happen). If you're highly sensitive to gluten and experience symptoms despite being on a careful diet, it makes sense to kick it out of your beauty routine too. However, as you can imagine, very few people fall in that category.

Other than that, there are no real health or beauty perks to using gluten-free products. In fact, going for these options might do you more harm than good because, sometimes, the ingredients left out are replaced by ingredients that turn out to be allergens which can lead to bigger problems.

I'd recommend you look at switching to natural beauty treatments if you are really keen on the trend. Using pure coconut oil or almond oil works as a good moisturiser on damp skin. In fact, coconut oil is so versatile, you can use it for a number of things - from your skin to your hair.

If you're thinking about going gluten-free, it's important to see how your body reacts to it before you decide to go for or against the trend. Hopefully, you'll be looking and feeling your best soon. If not, just ignore those 'gluten-free' labels and instead check for ingredients you actually want. You don't want to end up being the victim of yet another well-thought out marketing gimmick, do you?
wknd@khaleejtimes.com