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Thread: Allergic to castor oil, or something else?

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    Default Allergic to castor oil, or something else?

    Hello LHC! Hope you're all doing well!
    I need some help. I've apparently developed an allergy (or, at least, discovered an allergy) to something in my hair, and I'm wondering if it may be castor oil. First, some background on the situation - about two weeks ago, I bought a new shampoo and conditioner. I ran out of my old stuff and they didn't have any more of it in stock, so I tried a brand I've never used before.

    My reaction began about a day after my first use of the products, and my symptoms include red spots on my hands after sudsing the shampoo, throat mucus, and night time coughing/wheezing (probably because I got residue of it in my pillow cases which I'm in the process of washing as we speak). It's pretty bad, and it started right when I started using this stuff. I've changed nothing else in my routine, diet, etc - just the shampoo/conditioner. Has anyone else reported castor oil allergies with similar symptoms? Could it be something else in the products?


    Here is a list of the ingredients:

    Shampoo ingredients (excluding obvious ones like water, salt, alcohols, etc):
    Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Cocamide Mipa, Biotin, Panthenol, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Glycerin, Tocopheryl Acetate, Althaea Officinalis Root Extract, Fragrance (Parfum), Glycol Distearate, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Polyquaternium-44, Polyquaternium-7, Citric Acid, Dehydroacetic Acid, Sodium Gluconate, Decyl Glucoside, Polysorbate 20, Aminomethyl Propanol.

    Conditioner ingredients (excluding obvious ones like water, salt, alcohols, etc):
    Water, Cetyl Alcohol, Biotin, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Jojoba seed oil, Phytantriol, Althaea Officinalis Root Extract, Fragrance (Parfum), Behentrimonium Chloride, Dicetyldimonium Chloride, Glycerin, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Diheptyl Succinate, Caprylol Glicerin/Sebacic Acid Copolymer


    I've never used a product with castor oil on my hair before, and I've been reading ingredients for a very long time, so I'm almost certain I haven't used castor before (or at least, not that much of it). The castor oil is awfully high on the lists of ingredients.
    I've never had an allergic reaction to any shampoo or conditioner before, so this is really weird. It's the only thing I've changed in the last month, and the allergic reaction started about a day after my first wash/condition with these products.

    Is there anything else concerning in these ingredients? They're paraben free, SLS free, blah blah blah, but I did notice the fragrance is a little potent. I have had sensitivities to fragrance before, but never enough to call it an allergic reaction.

    Any thoughts?

    Thanks for reading. Be well,
    Spitfire


  2. #2

    Default Re: Allergic to castor oil, or something else?

    I’m sorry to hear you’re going through that! The fragrance could be part of the problem. It’s worth bearing in mind that there’s also pollen about this time of year (or there is where I live!) and allergies can start up, despite it not being fully fledged spring. If your hands are reacting though, it seems fairly obvious that these new products are causing a problem.

    If you put the product names into this website, it’ll flag potential allergens.
    https://incidecoder.com/

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    Member Rainbouu's Avatar
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    Default Re: Allergic to castor oil, or something else?

    I would check for methylisothiazolinone (MI) and/or methylchloroisothiazolinone (MCI) in your ingredients. They're derived from curry leaf and raspberry and used as a more natural substitute for parabens, and are known to cause allergies when used topically.

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    Default Re: Allergic to castor oil, or something else?

    Quote Originally Posted by Lady Stardust View Post
    I’m sorry to hear you’re going through that! The fragrance could be part of the problem. It’s worth bearing in mind that there’s also pollen about this time of year (or there is where I live!) and allergies can start up, despite it not being fully fledged spring. If your hands are reacting though, it seems fairly obvious that these new products are causing a problem.

    If you put the product names into this website, it’ll flag potential allergens.
    https://incidecoder.com/

    Thanks, that's an amazing resource, I bookmarked it! It flags the fragrance as a potential allergen, and I did notice right away that it was a very potent smelling shampoo and conditioner.


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    Default Re: Allergic to castor oil, or something else?

    Quote Originally Posted by Rainbouu View Post
    I would check for methylisothiazolinone (MI) and/or methylchloroisothiazolinone (MCI) in your ingredients. They're derived from curry leaf and raspberry and used as a more natural substitute for parabens, and are known to cause allergies when used topically.
    Good to know, thank you!
    These don't contain those, but I'll watch out for them when I go to look for a new shampoo and conditioner tomorrow. Thanks.
    I've clarified and all but nuked my bedding, pillowcases, etc to get rid of as much allergen as possible.


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    Member luxurioushair's Avatar
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    Default Re: Allergic to castor oil, or something else?

    A lot of lip glosses were made with castor oil, they made my lips very dry, which is the opposite of what you'd expect them to do. I'd never put castor oil on my hair... just my opinion
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    Default Re: Allergic to castor oil, or something else?

    Quote Originally Posted by luxurioushair View Post
    A lot of lip glosses were made with castor oil, they made my lips very dry, which is the opposite of what you'd expect them to do. I'd never put castor oil on my hair... just my opinion
    Wow, that's definitely not good. I even felt a strange burning or tingling sensation with both the shampoo and conditioner. The castor oil must have been really irritating to my scalp without me realizing that's what it was. I thought it was "supposed" to feel like that. I guess it's not!


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    Default Re: Allergic to castor oil, or something else?

    Quote Originally Posted by Spitfire View Post
    Wow, that's definitely not good. I even felt a strange burning or tingling sensation with both the shampoo and conditioner. The castor oil must have been really irritating to my scalp without me realizing that's what it was. I thought it was "supposed" to feel like that. I guess it's not!
    Huh, burning and tingling, that's definitely scary. Thankfully you caught on quickly before it had a chance to do much damage.
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