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