Cocamidopropyl Betaine allergic reactions

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AliOop

AliOop

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I saw a friend of mine last night, and her face looked just horrible, with swollen red patches around and under her eyes. She said it had been getting worse over the past week, and her lips were starting to swell. The rest of us urged her to see a doctor immediately because clearly she was having an allergic reaction that was becoming anaphylactic. So she saw a dermatologist today, and the doc confirmed that it was an allergic reaction to Cocamidopropyl Betaine. Apparently the American Contact Dermatitis Association called it the “Allergen of the Year” in 2004.

Of course, this is the liquid surfactant that I've just started using in my homemade syndet shampoo bars. :( Has anyone else here had problems with it? Any recommendations for a replacement that doesn't cause such reactions?
 
No kidding - that's what pushed me to finally making my own soap and other body products. I bought some soap from a friend's Amish market over 10 yrs ago while we were on vacation. The soap was labeled as "natural", and not knowing too much about soap I bought it. I didn't have so terrible a reaction, but neither my skin nor hair liked it, contrary to what my Amish friend told me. I emailed the company, because at that time I couldn't find any good info on the ingredient (gotta love gmail). Their reply was basically that they didn't really know what it was, but that it was derived from coconuts and was a natural alternative to SLS (which is why my friend had started using it). So, I have no alternative to offer, just my experience with that same ingredient... Hope your friend is doing better by today.
 
If you're not allergic to it and you don't provide shampoo bars to this friend, I guess I'm wondering -- why is CAPB in your formulation an issue for you?

In any case, you could look into polysorbates or C14-C16 olefin sulfonate (a tradename is Bioterge) as alternatives. Polysorbates are non-ionic, Bioterge is anionic.
 
Thanks everyone, I appreciate the info and resources.

@DeeAnna I tend to be the one who does have allergic reactions, either initially or eventually. And so do many of my family and friends who serve as testers. So at the very least, I want to warn them of the possibility and give them the option not to test this product.

I’d also prefer to find something else that doesn’t need such a warning. I do have both polysorbates and Bioterge on hand, so I may give those a try. I will also check out KiwiMoose’s suggestion of the foaming apple stuff. Thanks again!
 
Last edited:
AliOop said:
I saw a friend of mine last night, and her face looked just horrible, with swollen red patches around and under her eyes. She said it had been getting worse over the past week, and her lips were starting to swell. The rest of us urged her to see a doctor immediately because clearly she was having an allergic reaction that was becoming anaphylactic. So she saw a dermatologist today, and the doc confirmed that it was an allergic reaction to Cocamidopropyl Betaine. Apparently the American Contact Dermatitis Association called it the “Allergen of the Year” in 2004.

Of course, this is the liquid surfactant that I've just started using in my homemade syndet shampoo bars. :( Has anyone else here had problems with it? Any recommendations for a replacement that doesn't cause such reactions?
Click to expand...
My question would be did they actually test her to Know if this was causing the reaction? It could have been something else in the product she was using. I hate it when a dermatologist just assumes and believe me I have been to some that do. Just like the one that would not believe me it was the Evening Primrose Oil in my lotion causing my reaction one time, which ultimately caused my blood pressure to skyrocket and would not give me prednisone and betrayal shot to stop the reaction. I was told to never make lotion when I did not know what I was doing... After threatening to sue them I got the shots, blood pressure went down and the attack was thwarted so I did not go anaphylactic, where I was quickly heading. I have severe allergies and CAPB does not bother me in the least.

So this is our new designer allergin?... I also use C14-C16 olefin sulfonate in my shampoo bars but in combination with CAPB. There is always someone allergic to something.
 
@cmzaha they did not actually test her because like you, her reaction had become so severe. She had resisted going to the doctor, because she doesn't have experience with allergic reactions of any kind and didn't know the signs. Several of us who saw her were ready to drive her to ER! But she waited for her dermatologist appointment the next day. 😫

By the time she got in, they took one look and immediately gave her a shot, which fortunately did the trick. The only new product she had used was a foaming hand wash from Ulta that contains CAPB. She would wash her hands with it before she put on her morning and night face lotions. Her reaction began the day she started using the hand wash, and got worse each day. At the recommendation of her derma, she has since checked, and none of her other products contain CAPB. She is deciding whether to test, or just to avoid CAPB and call it good. Her derma recommends the latter.

I've only done some basic research which showed that for most people, CAPB is perfectly safe. However, a substantial percentage of folks will react, usually around the eyes because the skin is so thin and delicate. Here is a link to one of the articles that I read. If you scroll down to the picture of the older lady with red swollen eyelids, that is almost exactly how my friend looked, plus swollen lips and big red patches on her cheeks.

The whole reason I make my own products is that I do tend to get bad reactions, ranging from breakouts, rashes, and peeling skin, to sinusitis, headaches, migraines, and HBP. My only brushes with anaphylaxis have been with shrimp and ibuprofen; those were pretty scary, with pretty severe facial swelling to the point that the ER personnel visibly flinched in horror when they first saw me, then scurried to get me a prednisone shot.

My point in sharing all this is to let people know so they can watch for any reactions (theirs or others') and make informed decisions about whether to use CAPB, or something else. I'll probably keep using mine but will be watching carefully and also making extra sure it doesn't run near my eyes while washing my hair. No more face washing with it for me, either.
 
I fully understood your point in posting AliOop. Who knows what else may have been in that wash under trade secrets, that is where it gets very tricky, and where testing comes into play. the posting above about Foaming Oat wash would send me to the emergency room ASAP, as, with Evening Primrose Oil, it is advertised as fantastic with a lot of good properties for aging skin. Not my skin. :nonono: While I can eat oatmeal without issues I absolutely cannot use any oatmeal products topically. Also, as we age our allergies change which is why I have had testing more than once in my lifetime, but sadly, the shots do not tend to help atopic dermatitis, it is just good to have an idea of the triggers even if they can change daily.
 
Good points, Carolyn, and to be clear, I took no offense and appreciated all that you said, as well. I am grateful for the depth of knowledge and experience in this forum and knew that I could get a variety of viewpoints by asking here. Much better than asking on WasteBook, as the DH likes to call it. ;)
 

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