For new Vegans the first priority should always be
eliminating meat, dairy and eggs
But once you've changed your eating habits,
it's important to ensure that the other everyday products
you use are ethical too
It is not always practical or financially possible to replace
every non- Vegan product immediately
And since the damage has already been done when
the products have been purchased,
it's okay to use up existing products
However
after they're gone,
you have a responsibility to buy Vegan alternatives
Fortunately there are plenty of Vegan cosmetics available
If you find ethical companies, they will clearly label their products as Vegan
But there are plenty of Vegan products which aren't labelled
Cruelty free is a misleading term which means
a product has not been tested on animals
but it can still contain cruel animal derived ingredients
There are really only three logos you should trust when
looking for non- animal tested cosmetics
Any other symbol or logo of a bunny is unofficial
and shouldn't be trusted without further research
But because companies have to pay an extra fee to display
these logos on their packaging,
some certified products might not display the logos
So you can check on their database if you think this might be the case
Phrases like:
" This product has not been tested on animals
We fund research into alternatives "
often still means that the ingredients were tested
Just not on the final product
So they are not cruelty free
And many cosmetics have a number of different ingredients
which will be unfamiliar to most people
Most of them are synthetic, but look out for
the following animal derived ingredients:
Ambergris, beeswax, which is also called cera alba and is very common
Carmine, which is a common red dye also known as Red 5
cochineal or carminic acid
And casein, caseinate and sodium caseinate
Cholesterol, collagen, estrogen or estradiol
Keratin, lanolin, lecithin,
glycerides, monoclycerides,
musk, oleic acid, placenta
Polypeptides, polysorbates, progestrone and retinol
And lactic acid and glyceride or glycerol can both be derived from animals
But companies have started to use plant sources
so you might need to contact the company if you're unsure
Just understand that it's okay to make mistakes as long as
you always strive to learn more and do the best you can
to be as ethical as possible
And keep in my mind that phrases like:
" All natural "
can be applied to almost all of the disgusting animal derived ingredients
So don't let this mislead you
There are hundreds of companies which sell all kinds of
Vegan cosmetics in varying prices
Some of them can only be found online
but there are plenty of high street products available too
It's impossible to link to every company in every country
but in the ebook which is attached below,
I've included the most useful and comprehensive lists, guides and videos
The cruelty free international guide as well as PETA's guide
and the " Choose Cruelty Free " guide
are good places to start
And if you simply type your country with the phrase:
" Vegan cosmetics " into Google or Youtube
you will find the most relevant information on products you can buy
Checking online Vegan guides as well as company websites' ingredients lists
is a good way to find out which products are Vegan
But if you're still unsure about something,
make sure you email the company
You'll need to ask:
" Does the product contain animal derived ingredients? "
" Do you test on animals at any point during the production of your products? "
" Are the ingredients tested on animals by your supplier? "
" Does any third party test on animals on your behalf? "
And it's also a good idea to ask the company for
a list of Vegan products
To save time I've attached a template that you can
paste into emails below
So make use of that
Emails and social media inquiries help influence companies
So by doing this, they will be encouraged to clarify the labelling
and even change their ingredients and animal testing policies
Recently there has been a ban on animal testing in Europe
and in some other areas like Israel, India and New Zealand
On the surface this is meant thay companies cannot sell
products or ingredients tested on animals in these countries
However
This does not mean that we should be complacent about
the cosmetics we use
The bans just apply to ingredients which are only used in cosmetics
And it only covers consumer safety tests meaning that
they can still test ingredients on animals to determine if
there's a risk for the environment or worker safety
And unethical international companies can still test products or ingredients
in other parts of the world
And keep in mind that regardless of the ban
companies still use animal derived ingredients in many of their products
The ban also doesn't cover household products
so you'll still need to find Vegan alternatives for those
Because the chemicals in cosmetics can be harmful for the body,
some Vegans choose to simplify their cosmetics use and use cheaper,
less processed alternatives
Things like coconut oil and shea butter are
great as a moisturizer or hair conditioner
And you can even make homemade lip balms with them as well
And there are tons of recipes for
things like homemade deodorants and facemasks
This might seem overwhelming
but remember that changing habits often seems a lot more
challenging than it actually is
The initial switch from non- Vegan to Vegan cosmetics does require
some extra time and effort for a short period
But once you've found and tested out new Vegan products,
you won't need to think about it
For more information about animal testing
as well as a complete beginners guide to Vegan cosmetics
check out the free ebook linked below
I also have complete guides to Vegan food and Vegan clothing
so you can make use of those too
If you want to help support the production of helpful guides like this one,
please help support my activism via Patreon