To complain about "hypoallergenic" products containing Aloe vera, which is an allergen.

[Namechangetohidemyevilness]

I get so sick of this, and I keep complaining, but packaging rarely gets changed. Now the Coop is advertising a product as "hypoallergenic" but its got aloe vera in it, so how can they call it hypoallergenic? Surely that is a breach of the trades descriptions act.

So I guess I complain yet again, this is really tedious. I blame multinational chemical companies and advertising fads for the fashion of presenting aloe vera has some "gentle" "natural" panacea rather than the evil harsh nasty thing it is

YABU.

Hypoallergenic just means it doesn't contain more common allergy triggers. Allergies can be caused by anything in theory. I am allergic to 'hypoallergenic' dogs.....

But aloe vera is a common allergen!

Aloe allergy is not common. A very very small number of people will have a reaction. Hypoallergenic products use Ingredients which are unlikely to cause an allergic reaction, which includes aloe vera.

Hypoallergenic products will almost always contact something which someone somewhere reacts to as they can’t cover every base. They just use products which are the least likely to cause reactions. Aloe Vera allergies and not at all common.

It is about the testing. Hypoallergenic products are tested against other products. The incidence of allergic reaction with all products is recorded. Provided the hypoallergenic product has the lowest/ lower incidence, it can be labelled hypoallergenic. That is it.

My DD is allergic to tea tree - a similar problem, but we just avoid products containing it. It is fairly straightforward.

have you ever complained? I have had the label "hypoallergenic" removed from several products having sent the manufacturers photos of the allergies... but I do get fed up with it, particularly aloe vera, which is a common, and nasty, allergy

Anything can be an allergen. You should have seen the state of me after using Doublebase for the first (and last) time.

Turns out it contains Trolamine, which, as I'm allergic to NSAIDs, it's a very bad idea to put over your hands, never mind anywhere else your Psoriasis might be flaring.

I haven't complained - because I understand that hypoallergenic does not mean 'will not cause a reaction'. That is why ingredients are listed.

Aloe Vera is not a common allergen.

Its common enough, and can be very nasty

Not in comparison to other allergens, which is why it can be labelled as hypoallergenic. Because it is one of the ingredients which is most unlikely to cause a reaction.

Really, get over yourself. If it affects you then don’t buy it. Check labels.

If you have an allergy, wouldn’t you check the packaging carefully even if it said “hypoallergenic”?

It’s a meaningless term, anyway, as people can be allergic to anything.

Do you have stats to show how common aloe vera allergy is? Everything I’ve managed to find says it’s a rare allergy.

Anything can be an allergen (so that makes you unreasonable) which means that hypoallergenic is a misnomer (which makes you not unreasonable at all).

Practically everything I've ever reacted to has boasted of it's hypoallergenic formula! I use SkinsSafe and am very cautious about new products - I read ingredients lists carefully. Would also be interested to see reliable data about how common an allergen aloe vera is?

“Despite its widespread use and increasing prevalence in new products, reports of allergic reactions are very rare. Most manufactures use only the aloe gel the from leaf centers, minimizing any exposure to extracts or other plant components which may cause irritation.”

Aloe vera gel as a culprit of allergic contact dermatitis
Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology

I look at labels every time, the term hypoallergenic doesn't mean it won't affect me!

So many products claim to be hypoallergenic but contain really common allergens. Essential oils, balsam of Peru, etc. the things that are incredibly common as allergens, but they just keep putting them in.

even medical supplies are guilty of this.

It's really interesting to see this and that aloe vera is a common allergen. My daughter is allergic to aloe vera and so many people don't believe it. I bought her some tights once and straight away her legs started itching and developing a rash. When I looked at the packet, the tights had aloe vera in them! It wasn't obvious and I didn't check because who expects tights to have added ingredients? I check everything now and agree it shouldn't be labelled hypoallergenic if it has added aloe vera.

I've never heard of an aloe allergy

Too much time on your hands complaining.

You could just read the ingredients, which is what most people do when they have any kind of severe allergy.

I'm allergic to Balsam of Peru and it's everywhere!!

I love this is the worst problem you have at the moment

I won’t start a campaign asking for products that contain wheat to be labelled allergenic to those who have an allergy to wheat.
even though it would make my life easier

Hypoallergenic has no meaning at all. It sounds like it should be it doesn’t mean anything, so you could pop it on any product . Even if it contained all top 10 allergens.

No, it isn't. It is, quite literally, not common enough to be banned from hypoallergenic products.

Some people are indeed allergic to aloe vera, but nowhere near enough people for it to classified as a high-allergy risk product. In any case, hypoallergenic can also refer to the number of potentially allergenic ingredients in a product, so even if aloe vera was a well-known allergen, it's perfectly possible it would be allowable in hypoallergenic products provided there weren't several other potentially allergenic ingredients in there as well.

It's also an active ingredient with treatment properties, whereas the ingredients that are usually reduced in hypoallergenic products are non-active ingredients (eg things like colouring, perfume, preservative, carrier ingredients etc).

Ultimately, you can read and therefore are capable of checking a list of ingredients. This is a non-issue.