Allergic to ...? Help from ingredient experts needed

fly3k

fly3k

Joined
Sunday December 23, 2012
Location
Colchester, Essex
Hi All,

I have the Truefitt & Hill Almond shaving cream and when I use it I seem to get a burning sensation during the shave. I am guessing there is something that doesnt agree with my skin. I contacted T&H about it and they gave me the ingredients list to 3 creams the sandalwood and ultimate comfort I have not had any problems with. I have used the TOBS almond cream as well so not a nut allergy! I seem to get a slight red rash when I use MWF which contains lanolin I tried Godrej cream last night which also has lanolin and also got the red rash so think I must be allergic to it. Any way here are the ingredients list provided by T&H:

It sounds like you might have an allergy to one of the ingredients in the Almond cream. It is the cream with a few more ingredients than the average.
I have listed the ingredients for the 3 different creams below.


Sandalwood
Water, Stearic Acid, Myristic Acid, Potassium Hydroxide, Coconut Acid, Glycerin, Parfum, Triethanolamine, Sodium Hydroxide, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Citronellol, Coumarin, Limonene, Linalool.


Almond
Water, Stearic Acid, Myristic Acid, Potassium Hydroxide, Coconut Acid, Glycerin, Parfum, Triethanolamine, Sodium Hydroxide, Benzaldhyde, Tetrasodium, DTA, Phenoxethanol, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Butylparaben, CI19140(yellow5), C17200(Red33), CI42090(Blue1).


Ultimate Comfort
Water, Stearic Acid, Myristic Acid, Potassium Hydroxide, Coconut Acid, Glycerin, Lavendula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil, Triethanolamine, Sodium Hydroxide, Linalool.

I have asked for the ingredients in their No 10 cream as I use that as well with no problems.

Perhaps one of you experts on ingredients could enlighten me on what could be the problem.

I may even have to put the T&H Alomond & MWF on the BST, but I really like them both!
 
You may be irritated by lanolin, in which case you'll just have to avoid it. Of the T & H soaps you list, none of them have lanolin. Presuming you are o.k. with all the ingredients in the Sandalwood and Ultimate cComfort, this leaves you with the remaining ingredients in the Almond (which I very much doubt contains any nuts) which are in neither of the other two. They are:

Benzaldhyde, Tetrasodium, DTA, Phenoxethanol, Butylparaben, CI19140(yellow5), C17200(Red33), CI42090(Blue1) + parfum.

That's a bit of a tricky list - you might want to check whether the Godrej or MWF have any of them in, as it might help to narrow it down further, and it may be that it is one of the above that is the problem, rather than lanolin.
The parfum; well, we don't know what that is, but can see that it doesn't have any of the E.U. declarable allergens in it (otherwise they would be declared). So it's not impossible that you might have a problem with that, but probably unlikely if you have used other almond scented soaps without a problem.

Sorry that doesn't narrow things down a lot, but may give you some ideas.
 
In Denmark we have another word for allergy that freely translated is "overly sensitive". The thing is that allergies basically is your body being very sensitive to the effects of certain allergens. When applying this train of thought it is also very likely that you can be allergic to more than one substance.

Lanolin is a very likely substance to be allergic to. Of the ingredients in the T&H cream you have listed, it is not uncommon to be allergic to parfum and colorings. Regarding the Benzaldehyde, I googled this:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16835129

Towards the end of the text is a reference to "limited irritation and sensitization". You might just be one who would have reactions to this substance.

With all written, I'm just a leighman with no particular knowledge of allergens, other than I have a few allergies myself, mostly from pollen. My mother is allergic to ALL perfumes (including essential oils, even the scent of it) and many colorings. My brother has similar, but not as many allergies as my mother.


The great thing about shaving products is, that there are som many of them. If one particular product is causing you problems it is rally easy to find a substitute.

/Max
 
Does it matter which ingredient you react to? After all, you can't take it ouit of the product and then continue using it - you simply have to avoid the product.

You already have tbhe solution - BST. But despair not, there are umpteen dozen more creams and soaps for you to try - no big deal you react to a couple or five. I'm the same.
 
chrisbell said:
Bechet45 said:
Does it matter which ingredient you react to?
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Sorry to sound patronising, Carl, but yes, if the OP wants to avoid other products with the same ingredient.:icon_rolleyes::angel:
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Another Degree in Stating the Bleeding Obvious! Can you spot the flaws in your theory, Chris?

If content lists were accurate and contained ALL the specific ingredients - no catch-alls such as 'fragrance' and 'perfume' - you may stand a chance. If you had your own equipment to analyse the contents, a bigger chance. Even then, you might be caught out by 'this product was made usisng equipment also used for processing nuts' and the like.

As one who reacts adversely to various and assorted products, I can state that the pragmatic approach is to avoid those you know affect you in ways you don't like. For me, the problem lies in the perfumes and who knows what goes into making a particular scent by a particular manufacturer. One lavender I can take without a problem, another I can't.
 
Bechet45 said:
chrisbell said:
Bechet45 said:
Does it matter which ingredient you react to?
Click to expand...

Sorry to sound patronising, Carl, but yes, if the OP wants to avoid other products with the same ingredient.:icon_rolleyes::angel:
Click to expand...

Another Degree in Stating the Bleeding Obvious! Can you spot the flaws in your theory, Chris?

If content lists were accurate and contained ALL the specific ingredients - no catch-alls such as 'fragrance' and 'perfume' - you may stand a chance. If you had your own equipment to analyse the contents, a bigger chance. Even then, you might be caught out by 'this product was made usisng equipment also used for processing nuts' and the like.

As one who reacts adversely to various and assorted products, I can state that the pragmatic approach is to avoid those you know affect you in ways you don't like. For me, the problem lies in the perfumes and who knows what goes into making a particular scent by a particular manufacturer. One lavender I can take without a problem, another I can't.
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Of course, Carl, it could be something that comes under the vague "parfum" definition (though given Sharon's insight into EU allergen labelling, I doubt it, unless the OP has an intolerance or allergy to something that isn't a known allergen), but, given that he has used a rival brands' almond product, I'd suggest it's unlikely to be a nut intolerance or allergy, so the "produced in a factory which handles nuts" theory also seems a long shot. On that basis, considering Sharon's list, I'd take a punt at either the Benzaldehyde, or, most likely, one of the colourants. I too have had reactions to some products, and concluded that the common factor was lime oil. Since I eliminated the lime oil, I've had no further problems; my point not being to compare intolerances, but to question the "give up trying to eliminate possible causes as The Man won't really tell you everything that's in a product" philosophy.
 
IanM said:
From memory, I seem to recall that a few people react to almond/marzipan scented products.

Ian
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Almond is a common allergen, but, as the OP tolerates a different brand of almond cream, I doubt it's that.

In response to general comments, not solely Ian - perhaps I'm being too scientific about this (I've been accused of that in this forum often enough in the past), but all I'm doing is suggesting that Sharon's knowledge is worth paying attention to. Of course, Carl's approach is valid in that, if the OP tries cream X and it irritates him, he knows not to buy it again, but that suggestion in itself is (sorry Carl) "Another Degree in Stating the Bleeding Obvious", as I'm sure the OP isn't daft enough to keep buying and using cream X if he reacts to it!:icon_rolleyes:

Given the list of ingredients/compounds in the T&H almond cream which Sharon identified as being absent from the other two, if the OP were to try another cream which contained, say half the ingredients on that list, he could immediately eliminate half the possible triggers - if the new cream triggers a reaction, it must be something on the list which is shared by T&H almond and the new cream; if there's no reaction, then all shared ingredients are off the hook. I'm not saying he'll be able to identify one substance with certainty, but, if he has a shortlist of 2 or 3, it'll make choosing new products a damn sight easier. Surely it's worth a go?:huh::icon_sad:

Count of Undolpho said:
IanM said:
From memory, I seem to recall that a few people react to almond/marzipan scented products.

Ian
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My brother, who is allergic to almonds can eat yellow marzipan but not white?!?
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According to Waitrose - in their own "Cook's Ingredients white marzipan":

Sugar, almonds (25%), glucose syrup, invert sugar syrup
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In their equivalent golden marzipan:

Sugar, almonds (25%), glucose syrup, invert sugar syrup, colour lutein
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Sounds as though he's allergic to lutein (presuming that their ingredients are typical). Home-made golden marzipan often uses egg yolk to achieve the same colour.
 
Without wishing to go all medical (Chris, please note) are we differentiating between allergic, 'intolerant of' and 'sensitive to'?

I keep several scented soaps and gels in my shower tray and chose a different one every few days. This enables me to use scented soaps. Were I to use one cake from start to its finish, my face would be a bright red and have sores. The same technique works with shaving soaps and creams (except ones to which I react instantly). So I can buy and use many products to which I am sensitive and some I've had to junk immediately.

Back in the day, I was tested against hundreds of products, ingredients, substances and naturally occuring stuff. I was intolerant of one hundred and fifty-ish. Three months of carefully avoiding those items and I was down to ten of them. De-sensitisation. That way worked but cost several hundred Pounds.

What I do nowadays is to avoid stuff to which I react again after a period of abstinence after an initial reaction. Stuff that the manufacturer describes as containing, "100% natural ingredients" and/or as "herbal" I put back on the shelf. Fuck knows what I'm reacting to and who cares? Certainly not me. I avoid the product.

Now, were I allergic to stuff and got all choked up and couldn't breathe and my life was at risk, I'd need to know exactly which substance I was allergic to so I could avoid it and stay alive. But I don't think that is what the OP is talking about.
 
Bechet45 said:
Without wishing to go all medical (Chris, please note) are we differentiating between allergic, 'intolerant of' and 'sensitive to'?

I keep several scented soaps and gels in my shower tray and chose a different one every few days. This enables me to use scented soaps. Were I to use one cake from start to its finish, my face would be a bright red and have sores. The same technique works with shaving soaps and creams (except ones to which I react instantly). So I can buy and use many products to which I am sensitive and some I've had to junk immediately.

Back in the day, I was tested against hundreds of products, ingredients, substances and naturally occuring stuff. I was intolerant of one hundred and fifty-ish. Three months of carefully avoiding those items and I was down to ten of them. De-sensitisation. That way worked but cost several hundred Pounds.

What I do nowadays is to avoid stuff to which I react again after a period of abstinence after an initial reaction. Stuff that the manufacturer describes as containing, "100% natural ingredients" and/or as "herbal" I put back on the shelf. Fuck knows what I'm reacting to and who cares? Certainly not me. I avoid the product.

Now, were I allergic to stuff and got all choked up and couldn't breathe and my life was at risk, I'd need to know exactly which substance I was allergic to so I could avoid it and stay alive. But I don't think that is what the OP is talking about.
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I'm not denigrating or ignoring your experiences, Carl, and I'd agree with your point of "allergy" having a specific medical definition. I'd point-out at this stage that I'm not a medical doctor, and I'm not certain of the exact definition, other than to say that "allergy" means that a specific reaction occurs which can, as Carl says, involve anaphylatic shock. I'm suggesting taking a rigorous approach to this case purely as the OP obviously dislikes the discomfort caused by his intolerance/sensitivity and wants to avoid it in future - hence my suggestion that he consider individual ingredients rather than just taking a "suck it and see" approach.
 
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