Issues in food allergy and intolerance, coeliac disease, gut disorders, eczema, 'free from' and all allergies and sensitivities
Occasional reports have been surfacing during the Covid pandemic of an increased incidence of allergic responses to hair dye products, and the issue arose again this week, widely reported in the mainstream media, including by the BBC. I have written…
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There is a concoction of potentially hazardous chemicals on our shop shelves, many of which end up in our homes. A lot of them perform vital services — disinfecting our work surfaces, for example — and it would be difficult…
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Naturally, those whose immune systems react adversely to either external or internal triggers as they do in food allergy, other allergies, and the auto-immune condition coeliac disease, will be especially worried about the international pandemic of the coronavirus COVID-19. Ditto…
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PPD, or paraphenylenediamine, is a chemical used in most permanent hair dyes, especially the darker types. When mixed with an oxidiser (typically hydrogen peroxide) and applied, it penetrates shafts of hair and transforms into an oxidised form whose molecules are…
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One year ago today I self-published a book called Living with Methylisothiazolinone Allergy. Methylisothiazolinone, or MI for short, is a preservative used in cosmetics, detergents and ancillary cleaning products, and in other liquid products you have around the home, such…
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Shea nuts are tree nuts, obtained from the shea tree, which grows in various parts of Africa. The shea nut is found within the fruit of the tree, and it is oil rich. Widely eaten in Africa, in the…
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It was a while ago now, but not long after I wrote a post called Are Oats Good for Eczema? a reader wrote to me and pointed out that, if you have nickel allergy, oats can be a problem. As…
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Following my recent article on sulfite / sulphite sensitivity, it was pointed out to me that sulfites are also used in cosmetics. Given their role in colour preservation and to prevent oxidation in foods such as dried apricots, it’s not…
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… benzisothiazolinone, octylisothiazolinone. Four preservatives with very long names that most have never heard of, but together, they’re responsible for one of the most significant allergy epidemics in recent decades — and they are also the subject of my latest…
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I’m often asked for recommendations for allergy-safe or hypoallergenic cosmetics. Many refer to ‘allergen free’ skincare but in practice little can be truly allergen free, given that almost all ingredients used in toiletries can — at least in theory, if…
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