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glucoside allergies
I am interested in knowing how many of you are using glucosides and if so, have you had allergic reactions reported.Recently, BASF sent me a sample of Emulgin-V which is mainly decyl glucoside. It caused me quite a severe case of comedones when I tried it on myself (in a skin cream at the recommended level) and I have now patch-tested it and got the same result.Unfortunately, I am also able to obtain a similar allergic response when I test myself with Lamesoft PO-65, which is coco-glucoside and decyl oleate.Therefore, I am becoming very concerned that glucosides are causes of allergic reactions.Links of interest:I have decided to avoid the use of any glucosides in my products. At present we have it in a body wash and a shampoo in the form of Lamesoft PO-65, I will have to reformulate both, will need to obtain the glyceryl oleate as a distinct item. -
7 Replies
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While I think it’s great that you are concerned about allergic reactions, I also think that you’re over-reacting.First, rinse-off products like shampoo and body wash have FAR less potential to cause a skin reaction, allergic or not, than a leave-on product does - even with the same level of problem ingredients. The amount of skin contact time is usually minimal. Also, strong surfactants (as opposed to emulsifiers) are generally very bad things to have in any leave-on product, due to the harm that they can do to the skin, and it’s not just allergenicity.Second, comedones are very rarely caused from allergic reactions. But, I will agree that your skin reaction, coupled with the literature, is enough to remove ingredients that worry you.Third, and possibly most important, is that you’re discarding an entire class of chemicals due to problems mostly from one specific version of that class. Additionally, dermotologists NEVER make the distinction between ingredients and contaminants in those ingredients when making pronouncements about allergens. For example, it’s been proven conclusively that all allergic reactions to lanolin were solely due to pesticide residue in that ingredient. Properly purified lanolin is as close to non-allergenic as any ingredient can get. The same is true of petrolatum. Yet both of those ingredients are routinely condemned by dermatologists everywhere.Lastly, worrying about allergenicity and eliminating all potential allergens is a fast road to selling only pure water. You can find someone who is allergic to anything. Some people are even allergic to their own sweat.You are free to do whatever you like, of course. But I think you’re making your job unnecessarily more difficult. -
The fact is, that I’m coming out in hives as a reaction to a rinse off product that contains only 0.5% of the glucoside (approximately). That’s what makes me think that the ingredient may be a potent cause of allergic reactions.
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I agree that you should be very concerned. and that we should all look into this more carefully, but that’s not what you described initially. You talked about a skin cream, not a rinse off product, and about comedones, not hives.
Hives/welts are not comedones. Comedones are blackheads/whiteheads - basically acne vulgaris. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedo -
It’s occurring in two different products. Sorry if I have not been clear.
In the first case it was Emulgin VL-75 in a skin cream, 2% usage (emulsifier). The main component in Emulgin is decyl glucoside. It caused a case of what looked like small boils. Unpleasant to say the least.More recently I noted that I was coming out in hives and was wondering what might be the cause. Then I ran out of the body shampoo and used natural soap. The hives went away. I tried the body shampoo again. Once again I had a reaction, pretty much within hours.The body shampoo contains Lamesoft PO-65, and one of its two ingredients is coco-glucoside.I also make a liquid soap which has the exact same basis except no Lamesoft. When I tried it instead, I got no allergic reaction. So I am pretty certain the Lamesoft is the cause, and considering it’s in a rinse-off product and only at 1% concentration, and only half of it (probably) is glucoside … I think you’ll understand my concern. -
This evening I was chatting to one of our testers and he commented that he’d had a slight rash that had cleared up when using soap. I’m going to not produce any more until I am 100% certain because right now I am not 100% sure, but pretty sure. I guess I need to do patch tests at the same concentration?
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I think you are referring to Eumulgin VL 75. This material is composed of lauryl glucoside, polyglyceryl-2-dipolyhydroxystearate and glycerin. I can’t speak for the safety of this raw material. For Decyl Glucoside,I did not encounter any allergic reaction on myself, as well as the panelists who tested samples of our products with relatively high amount of Decyl Glucoside (~5.00%).
With Lamesoft PO 65, I am also quite familiar with that material. May I know the dosage that you used in the body shampoo? I haven’t tried using it at more than 1%. Because that was the recommended dosage according to the supplier.
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Kirk, yes, Emulgin VL 75. For the Lamesoft, I was using it at 1%, the recommended level. I am going to remove it and am now looking for a suitable replacement. Suggestions welcome!
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