It started with a coupon

I'm a crazy coupon lady, with an organizer and all. With my shampoo and conditioner running low, I noticed a coupon for Aveeno in the recent circular.

When at the commissary I noticed something on the front of the bottle, wheat protein. "Hmm," I said to Justin disappointed, "I guess I can't get this stuff." Then I began to question if any of my products at home contained gluten. I had read about it, but honestly for some reason didn't think anything of it since I don't ingest it.

Later that night I began to investigate. I checked out my beloved Aveda Hang Straight (which actually is not made anymore). My bottle is near empty, but I wondered about my favorite straightening product.

Right there: plain easy to read, "wheat" is printed two times.

Then the wheels began to turn and I started to make a connection to events that were happening in January. All through January I would wake up with swollen fingers. I researched it online, of course diagnosing myself, that it was connected to gluten. I began to question everything I was eating. I had extensive conversations with Kristen, having her check my peanut butter and other various products in this book she has. I still couldn't make any good reasonable connections.

So I blamed my favorite tea.

Around the same time my fingers began swelling each morning, Justin and I had started a routine of drinking a cup of tea before bed. I would enjoy this liquorice peppermint tea that I had bought a case of online. My sister Jill introduced it to me pre-celiac diagnosis, because it reminded us of the stuff they serve at Aveda salons. Organic tea was my culprit?

I stopped drinking the tea, but the swelling continued. It was so annoying, because I couldn't fit my wedding ring on in the morning. I had to wait until right before I left and would squeeze it on my finger. I even emailed the company and received a prompt response.

Dear Karen,

Thank you for contacting us.

All of our teas are gluten-free. We have the information on some of our literature, but I know we’re also working to get it up on our website and other material.  The tea is not closed with any glue and our facility only processes tea, so no gluten is present.  We appreciate your patience, and in the meantime, you can rest assured that all of our teas are free of gluten.

If you have any other questions, please let us know.

Kind regards,

-- 

Katie Bouchard
Customer Service
(206) 525-0051 ext 10 | choice@granum-inc.com

Eek! Tea was not causing my sausage fingers. It was not until this week that I finally discovered the cause. I haven't straightened my hair in a couple months because I badly need a hair cut. My ends are split, but don't look that nasty when I wear my hair curly. My curly products are safe, so I haven't experienced the finger bloating lately. During the January time period I was straightening my hair a lot. I had started taking showers before bed and would load up my hair with Hang Straight.

Everything is so clear. Now I need to find a new GF straightening product. I also need a haircut, but love my Aveda Salon. I'm sure this will make me put it off even longer...because it means reading all the labels before I get shampooed and cut!

But this discovery all started because of a coupon.