Un allergene da non sottovalutare: il dioleato di metilglucosio

Emulsifiers, common constituents of topical preparations, can occasionally be a cause of adverse reactions to cosmetics or topical medicaments. A case of allergic contact dermatitis of the face after the use of a lipstick in a 20-year old female is reported. The use test performed with the lipstick was strongly positive; patch test with the ingredients of the lipstick showed a positive reaction only to methyl glucose dioleate, an emulsifier used in cosmetics and topical pharmaceutical products. Methyl glucose dioleate is the diester of a methyl glucoside and oleic acid. Only sporadic cases of allergic contact dermatitis due to methyl glucose dioleate are described in the literature but we hypothesize that contact allergies to this emulsifier are not as rare as reported.