The marketing beast strikes again. It is one thing to respond to consumer inquiry. It is another to proudly proclaim that a product is free of a substance that is irrelevant based on how the product is used. You know, for the sake of profit.
In this case – gluten.
Triggered
For instance, if I see a gallon of milk (actual milk produced by a mammal) marketed as gluten free – I get annoyed. Obviously it is gluten free; it is milk. But because a few people have Celiac and the rest of the general population needs to have something wrong with them too…here we are.
Dairy producers are putting ridiculous labels on their product to prevent from drops in sales at worst. Or, at best, an influx of, frankly, stupid questions from customers. It annoys me, but I can coexist with it because at least milk is ingested.
Gluten Free Makeup, Though?
I just got an e-mail from Tarte proudly proclaiming that in addition to common things like being cruelty free, vegan, etc., that they are a gluten free makeup brand.
Thank goodness, our prayers have been answered! It’s so good to know that this shimmery eyeshadow will not cause severe digestive distress for someone. I can really feel good about closing my eyes, plugging my ears, and waterboarding myself with this GF kool-aid.
Oh wait, it wouldn’t have anyway because Celiac Disease is a condition pertaining to the small intestine. In suffering individuals, the small intestine flips out upon consumption of gluten. Then, chaos and discomfort ensues. Celiac isn’t a condition that may be affected or exacerbated by topical application of substances.
And for those of you claiming Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity? Yeah…still not a thing.
The Bottom Line
If your eyeshadow or lipstick has a gluten-based binder or wheat-derived Vitamin E in it you aren’t going to be thrown into a digestive episode. Not possible unless you’re treating your lipsticks like snacks…in which case you have other, larger problems on your hands.
Major facepalm. It’s a marketing ploy, I know. There are hundreds if not thousands of small minded people who will eat that up. They’ll choose Tarte products over competitors for that reason alone. From a business profitability standpoint, Tarte is intelligent for jumping on the gluten free makeup bandwagon but man, it rubs me the wrong way. It strikes me as insensitive towards people who are living with the condition, and it leaves a poor taste in my mouth.
Glad I’m not the only one who called BULL on this nonsense!
Oh and lol @ “the rest of the general population needs to have something wrong with them too…here we are.” So true!
(see: Jimmy Kimmel’s YouTube video where a dozen random people are asked about their gluten consumption and most who said they avoid it don’t even know wtf gluten it is!)
I have a condition called Dermatitis Herpetiformis, which depending on what you read is considered either the skin version of Celiac’s or a non Celiac wheat sensitivity. I had a terrible rash for years before finding out it was only controlled and minimized by avoiding wheat. Now even skin products with wheat derived ingredients give me terrible rashes (in addition to getting sick from eating wheat or wheat contaminated food.) Its one thing to not fully understand it (there is debate even among experts) and I get that it’s a popular bandwagon to jump on, both to claim sensitivity to it and to poke fun of it, but for some of us it is the real deal and this labeling is extremely helpful. https://celiac.org/celiac-disease/understanding-celiac-disease-2/dermatitis-herpetiformis/