Allergen

Hotel, Gym, Spa, Airline Amenities

You wouldn’t see these items in a patch test tray as such, but so many product amenities given to customers for free (or provided for their use) in hotels, gyms, spas, and airlines are not hypoallergenic and tend to contain lots of top contact allergens.

Some popular amenities include shampoo; conditioner; bath or shower gel, bubble bath crystals, salts, or liquids; moisturizer; toothpaste; shaving cream; cologne; essential oils, and hand sanitizer.

Many contain fragrance, flower or natural extracts, dyes, amido-amine surfactants, flavoring, parabens or other allergenic preservatives like quaternium-15 and phenoxyethanol … and that’s just to start!

You can ask your hotel if they offer fragrance-free or hypoallergenic or allergy-free room options. Ask what “allergy-free” means to the hotel. For some, it means a specific kind of “bio disinfection” or sheets that protect against dust-mites. Some hotels boast “natural” air purifiers, laundry detergent, and disinfectants but they could contain fragrance, citrus or fruit extracts, or natural disinfectants that are top contact allergens like tea tree oil. It might be worth asking them to check if they use anything with your particular allergens. If this is not possible, there are other things you can do:

• Pack a white or uncolored, unbleached cotton cloth and pillow cases to serve as a barrier against dicey laundry detergents.
• Ask for an allergy-free room and request that no scented products (air spray, etc.) be used when cleaning your room.
• Ask the spa about hypoallergenic options before booking your service or if you can bring your own virgin coconut oil for your massage.
• When traveling or at the gym, bring your own shampoo and body wash, conditioner, cleanser, moisturizer, deodorant, toothpaste, skincare, and hand gel.
• To hand carry your necessities, transfer just what you need for the plane ride into travel containers. For best results, disinfect the travel containers before use by running them through the dishwasher (using soap that’s free of your allergens, of course) or wash them with Superwash. When dry, pour a small amount of unscented rubbing alcohol into the containers and shake so that the alcohol covers all surfaces. Pour out any excess and leave to dry in a protected area (it should take just a few seconds).

Subscribe to VMVinSKIN.com and our YouTube channel for more hypoallergenic tips and helpful “skinformation”!

If you have a history of sensitive skin…

…don’t guess! Random trial and error can cause more damage. Ask your dermatologist about a patch test.

To shop our selection of hypoallergenic products, visit vmvhypoallergenics.com. Need help? Ask us in the comments section below, or for more privacy (such as when asking us to customize recommendations for you based on your patch test results) contact us by email, or drop us a private message on Facebook.

For more:

• On the prevalence of skin allergies, see Skin Allergies Are More Common Than Ever. 
• For the difference between irritant and allergic reactions, see It’s Complicated: Allergic Versus Irritant Reaction.
• For the difference between food, skin, and other types of reactions: see Skin & Food Allergies Are Not The Same Thing. 
• On the differences between hypoallergenic, natural, and organic, check out Is Natural Hypoallergenic? and this video in our YouTube channel. 
• To learn about the VH-Rating System and hypoallergenicity: What Is The Validated Hypoallergenic Rating System?

Main References: 

Regularly published reports on the most common allergens by the North American Contact Dermatitis Group and European Surveillance System on Contact Allergies (based on over 28,000 patch test results, combined), plus other studies. Remember, we are all individuals — just because an ingredient is not on the most common allergen lists does not mean you cannot be sensitive to it, or that it will not become an allergen. These references, being based on so many patch test results, are a good basis but it is always best to get a patch test yourself.

1. DeKoven JG, Warshaw EM, Reeder MJ, Atwater AR, Silverberg JI, Belsito DV, Sasseville D, Zug KA, Taylor JS, Pratt MD, Maibach HI, Fowler JF Jr, Adler BL, Houle MC, Mowad CM, Botto N, Yu J, Dunnick CA. North American Contact Dermatitis Group Patch Test Results: 2019-2020. Dermatitis. 2023 Mar-Apr;34(2):90-104. doi: 10.1089/derm.2022.29017.jdk. Epub 2023 Jan 19. PMID: 36917520.
2. Uter W, Wilkinson SM, Aerts O, Bauer A, Borrego L, Brans R, Buhl T, Dickel H, Dugonik A, Filon FL, Garcìa PM, Giménez-Arnau A, Patruno C, Pesonen M, Pónyai G, Rustemeyer T, Schubert S, Schuttelaar MA, Simon D, Stingeni L, Valiukevičienė S, Weisshaar E, Werfel T, Gonçalo M; ESSCA and EBS ESCD working groups, and the GEIDAC. Patch test results with the European baseline series, 2019/20-Joint European results of the ESSCA and the EBS working groups of the ESCD, and the GEIDAC. Contact Dermatitis. 2022 Oct;87(4):343-355. doi: 10.1111/cod.14170. Epub 2022 Jun 24. PMID: 35678309. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35678309/
3. DeKoven JG, Silverberg JI, Warshaw EM, Atwater AR, et al. North American Contact Dermatitis Group Patch Test Results: 2017-2018. Dermatitis. 2021 Mar-Apr 01;32(2):111-123.
4. DeKoven JG, Warshaw EM, Zug KA, et al. North American Contact Dermatitis Group Patch Test Results: 2015-2016. Dermatitis. 2018 Nov/Dec;29(6):297-309.
5. DeKoven JG, Warshaw EM, Belsito DV, et al. North American Contact Dermatitis Group Patch Test Results 2013-2014. Dermatitis. 2017 Jan/Feb;28(1):33-46.
6. Warshaw, E.M., Maibach, H.I., Taylor, J.S., et al. North American contact dermatitis group patch test results: 2011-2012. Dermatitis. 2015; 26: 49-59.
7. W Uter et al. The European Baseline Series in 10 European Countries, 2005/2006–Results of the European Surveillance System on Contact Allergies (ESSCA). Contact Dermatitis 61 (1), 31-38.7 2009.
8. Wetter, DA et al. Results of patch testing to personal care product allergens in a standard series and a supplemental cosmetic series: An analysis of 945 patients from the Mayo Clinic Contact Dermatitis Group, 2000-2007. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2010 Nov;63(5):789-98.
9. Warshaw EM, Buonomo M, DeKoven JG, et al. Importance of Supplemental Patch Testing Beyond a Screening Series for Patients With Dermatitis: The North American Contact Dermatitis Group Experience. JAMA Dermatol. 2021 Dec 1;157(12):1456-1465.
10. Verallo-Rowell VM. The validated hypoallergenic cosmetics rating system: its 30-year evolution and effect on the prevalence of cosmetic reactions. Dermatitis 2011 Apr; 22(2):80-97.
11. Ruby Pawankar et al. World Health Organization. White Book on Allergy 2011-2012 Executive Summary.
12. Misery L et al. Sensitive skin in the American population: prevalence, clinical data, and role of the dermatologist. Int J Dermatol. 2011 Aug;50(8):961-7.
13. Warshaw EM1, Maibach HI, Taylor JS, Sasseville D, DeKoven JG, Zirwas MJ, Fransway AF, Mathias CG, Zug KA, DeLeo VA, Fowler JF Jr, Marks JG, Pratt MD, Storrs FJ, Belsito DV. North American contact dermatitis group patch test results: 2011-2012.Dermatitis. 2015 Jan-Feb;26(1):49-59.
14. Warshaw, E et al. Allergic patch test reactions associated with cosmetics: Retrospective analysis of cross-sectional data from the North American Contact Dermatitis Group, 2001-2004. J AmAcadDermatol 2009;60:23-38.
15. Foliaki S et al. Antibiotic use in infancy and symptoms of asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis, and eczema in children 6 and 7 years old: International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood Phase III. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2009 Nov;124(5):982-9.
16. Kei EF et al. Role of the gut microbiota in defining human health. Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther. 2010 Apr; 8(4): 435–454.
17. Thavagnanam S et al. A meta-analysis of the association between Caesarean section and childhood asthma. Clin Exp Allergy. 2008;38(4):629–633.
18. Marks JG, Belsito DV, DeLeo VA, et al. North American Contact Dermatitis Group patch-test results, 1998 to 2000. Am J Contact Dermat. 2003;14(2):59-62.
19. Warshaw EM, Belsito DV, Taylor JS, et al. North American Contact Dermatitis Group patch test results: 2009 to 2010. Dermatitis. 2013;24(2):50-99.
20. Verallo-Rowell V. M, Katalbas S.S. & Pangasinan J. P. Natural (Mineral, Vegetable, Coconut, Essential) Oils and Contact Dermatitis. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep 16,51 (2016) . https://doi.org/10.1007/s11882-016-0630-9.
21. Park G, Oh DS, Lee MG, Lee CE, Kim YU. 6-Shogaol, an active compound of ginger, alleviates allergic dermatitis-like skin lesions via cytokine inhibition by activating the Nrf2 pathway. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2016 Nov 1;310:51-59. doi: 10.1016/j.taap.2016.08.019. Epub 2016 Aug 22. PMID: 27562088.
22. de Groot AC. Monographs in Contact Allergy, Volume II – Fragrances and Essential Oils. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group; 2019.
23. De Groot AC. Monographs in Contact Allergy Volume I. Non-Fragrance Allergens in Cosmetics (Part I and Part 2). Boca Raton, Fl, USA: CRC Press Taylor and Francis Group, 2018.
24. Zhu TH, Suresh R, Warshaw E, et al. The Medical Necessity of Comprehensive Patch Testing. Dermatitis. 2018 May/Jun;29(3):107-111.

Want more great information on contact dermatitis? Check out the American Contact Dermatitis Society, Dermnet New Zealand, the Contact Dermatitis Institute, and your country’s contact dermatitis association.

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