How Gluten Destroyed My Skin and Hair

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In her mid-thirties, she was finally diagnosed with celiac disease—and it turned out the condition was the source of all these problems. Basically, using products with any amount of gluten (a substance present in grains) in the formula caused her crazy amounts of irritation.

“When I switched to a gluten-free shampoo, the pain stopped immediately,” says Jennifer, who’s overhauled her beauty routine since the diagnosis. That’s why partnering with Éclair Naturals, a new line of vegan, gluten-free, and soy-free beauty products available at Rite Aid, was a no-brainer for her. “I love the brown sugar body scrub because it smells like cookies,” she says.
 

A photo posted by Éclair Naturals (@eclairnaturals) on May 27, 2016 at 8:09am PDT

Painful rashes weren’t the only thing Jennifer dealt with prior to learning she had celiac disease, though. She says her hair used to fall out in clumps. “My eyelashes were falling out, too,” she adds. (Because people with the condition don’t absorb key nutrients, hair loss often occurs.)

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What’s more, Jennifer says her skin had a yellow tint to it, so finding a perfect foundation match on TV and movie sets was virtually impossible. “My liver was toxic, which was making my skin yellow,” she says.

While she’s doing a whole lot better now that she avoids gluten in her food and beauty regimen, Jennifer—who owns a gluten-free bakery called Jennifer’s Way in New York City—still has her ups and downs. “It’s an autoimmune disease, so you really have to stay on top of it,” she says. “When you feel a flare coming on, if you don’t take charge right then, it’ll cycle out of control. I feel great right now, but my killer is stress, and I’m still learning how to deal with that. Meditation helps a lot.”