<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Thanks to the many who responded to my message about P&G not being willing to divulge whether Secret contains gluten without a note from a doctor. 

It seems this has been company policy for Proctor and Gamble for many years, and many that many have found this out by inquiring about some of their many products in the past.  

Several people were under the mistaken opinion that gluten must be ingested in order to cause damage.  Many celiacs are so sensitive that even what little gluten can be absorbed through the skin can cause them to become ill.  Many doctors are aware of this.  Be aware also that many of our listmates have Dermatitis Herpetformis (DH), the skin manifestatation of gluten sensitive enteropathy.  There is no other bulletin board that I know of where these folks can go to get information.

Also, Proctor and Gamble makes lots of products, including toothpastes, etc., and they have the same policy for these.  Sensodyne is not gluten-free, but their policy extends to it, also.

One person wrote in that she is an extremely sensitive DH sufferer, and she uses Secret with no problems, which is an indication that it is probably gluten free.  

Others said that because of P&G's policy, they avoided anything made by P&G altogether.

Many people recommended Tom's of Maine products. 

Jean Meagaly got the following response from P&G: 

Thanks for contacting us.=20 
 
We know Celiac is a serious disease, so we want to give you clear informa= 
tion=20 
regarding the use of our beauty care products.  If wheat and/or gluten ar= 
en't=20 
directly added to a product by us, these ingredients won't be listed on o= 
ur=20 
packages.  Like many companies, we often purchase the scents for fragranc= 
ed=20 
products from outside suppliers, and the components of these substances a= 
re=20 
proprietary information belonging to those companies. Therefore it's poss= 
ible=20 
that a very small amount (generally parts per million) of gluten may be=20= 
 
present.=20 
 
We sought advice from physicians; they told us it would be very unlikely = 
a=20 
person with Celiac disease would have a reaction from a trace amount of=20= 
 
gluten coming into contact with his skin or hair.  This is because wheat,= 
 rye,=20 
barley and/or gluten generally cause symptoms when they're ingested.  Sin= 
ce=20 
our beauty care products are designed to be used externally on the skin, = 
their=20 
use shouldn't be an issue for someone with this disease. 
 
Since gluten sensitivity can vary among people, it would be best if you=20= 
 
consulted with your physician about the use of all types of consumable go= 
ods,=20 
if you haven't already.  You might even consider using one of our fragran= 
ce=20 
free products that doesn't list gluten or wheat extracts on the label. 
 
Also, none of our current Crest toothpaste versions, Crest Whitestrips=20= 
 
versions, or Crest Night Effects contains gluten.  In addition, none of t= 
he=20 
ingredients used in Glide dental floss contains gluten. 
 
Although we do not directly add ingredients that contain gluten to Crest = 
Pro- 
Health Rinse or to Crest Whitening Rinse, it's possible these products co= 
uld=20 
contain trace amounts.  We recommend you contact your doctor before using= 
=20 
these rinse products if you have questions or concerns about gluten. 
 
Thanks again for getting in touch with us.  I hope this response has been= 
=20 
helpful to you.  For more information about Celiac, you may want to check= 
 out=20 
http://celiac.com/ and http://celiac.org 
 
Nancy 
P&G Team 

Another person said they are having trouble getting info from many companies.  I have not had these problems, myself.  

So there you have it.  My beef is that they have the info but won't divulge without a doctor's letter.  Then they will write the letter to the doctor, and you will need to make another appointment to get the results (if a doctor will even go through this idiocy).

I really think we can find other products besides P&G if we look.  Let's try to send them a message.

Misty

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