Welcome to episode 395 of The Paleo View! (0:40)
It is opposite day again because Stacy has prepared a super detailed, science-backed, skincare follow up show.
Sarah once again gets to be the comic relief.
This episode is a follow up to the non-toxic skincare episode but will cover more than just skincare.
There has been a lot of information about toxins in general, and Stacy wants to dive into what this means.
This week Stacy is going to dive into gluten in personal care products, heavy metals in personal care, fragrances, asbestos, and more.
When discussing toxins, Stacy wants us to think about 'is something actually poisonous' or is it simply something that doesn't work for you.
Like many things that are clickbait on the internet, you will find people saying things that are questionable.
This show will be science-based as Stacy and Sarah dive into what is actually toxic, poisonous, problematic things for you to use on your body and why.
Sarah clarified how Stacy is defining the words toxic, sensitivity, healthy and safe.
 
Does Gluten in Skincare Matter?
The first thing Stacy is going to talk about is the thing that Stacy receives the most questions on, which is gluten in skincare. (4:31)
Even if there is gluten in a personal care product that would not make it toxic.
Something can still be non-toxic and natural and have gluten in it.
Ingredients and reading labels, just like with food, is going to be important in your personal care products.
How do you learn how to read the labels when looking for gluten?
It is important to understand that gluten-containing and derived from on a label are not the same thing.
You have some ingredients that are going to be ok for most people because they are not gluten-containing, even though they are derived from.
However, then you have a different class of ingredients that are inclusive of the protein, which is gluten.
So when you are thinking, "what do I need to look for?", the questions that you need to be asking are as follows:
How sensitive to gluten are you?
Do you have a weekend immune system or gut dysbiosis?
Do you have an autoimmune condition?
Or skin that is weakened with open wounds?
 
More on Gluten Absorption
Our skin is a really good barrier and gluten protein, in particular, is too big for our skin to absorb.
So if you have healthy skin and you are not super sensitive (i.e. you don't have celiac disease or an autoimmune disease), then using gluten in your skincare might actually be ok for you.
Sarah posed the question that it depends on how the product is derived and explained this in greater detail.
If you are someone who suspects a higher sensitivity, the potential for problems could be higher
When the structure of gluten changes, even if you are a healthy person, your skin would be absorbing it.
For Stacy, she does not touch hydrolyzed anything, even if it's fermented.
Things that will impact your absorption of anything include steamed skin, dermabrasion, an open wound, and any sort of treatment to your skin like light treatment.
Be aware that when you do these treatments your skin is even more prone to absorb what is being applied topically. (12:50)
Stacy also avoids gluten-derived products for the mouth, the hands, or sprays, since you are absorbing these products via consumption.
It is not necessarily black or white.
It is more nuanced and up to personal needs and health history.
Ingredients to avoid include HYDROLYZED WHEAT PROTEIN, SECALE CEREALE (RYE) SEED EXTRACT, and HYDROLYZED HYALURONIC ACID.
Again, this is bio-individual and depends on the health of your skin.
Ingredients that Stacy feels comfortable including (after personally testing) are HYALURONIC ACID and SODIUM HYALURONATE, ARACHIDYL GLUCOSIDE, BETA-GLUCAN, SCLEROTIUM GUM, and SORBITOL. 
The line of products that Stacy uses, BeautyCounter, does gluten testing on their products and are certified gluten-free.
Sarah mentioned that there is some concern in the medical community that the testing criteria for g