How to Identify Cruelty-Free Cosmetics

Many skin care and makeup products are still tested on animals. But the growing number of cruelty-free brands shows that this is not necessary! Whether it’s facial and skin care, makeup or any cosmetics, we’ll tell you how to identify cruelty free cosmetics.

Today more and more brands are offering cruelty-free and vegan cosmetics, and more and more people are choosing not to use cosmetics that don’t follow these standards. However, many people still don’t know how to identify cruelty-free cosmetics. Worry not, it is actually not that difficult!

Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Are Becoming More Available

Most major cosmetics companies test their products on animals. This means that if you also use the most popular brands, chances are there are a good few hair and skin care products in your bathroom that have been tested on animals. But today there are many ways to replace the need for animal testing, such as cross-referencing or computer modelling. Fortunately, there are more and more cosmetic companies that focus specifically on animal welfare, and more and more companies that once experimented with animals but switched to producing cruelty-free products under the influence of PETA and similar organizations. But how can you identify cruelty-free cosmetics?

The Biggest Cruelty-Free Brands

If you are reading this article, you surely are interested in cruelty-free products. So you’ve probably come across cosmetics from the biggest cruelty-free companies. One of the most popular ones is LUSH, which not only fights for animal rights but also runs a zero-waste movement. Not to mention that they have amazingly fragrant and sparkling foaming products that you can’t help but love! But we should definitely mention The Body Shop as well, as they also place great emphasis on the concept of cruelty-free beauty.

But even outside of these two brands, you can find quite a few fantastic products, even on the shelves of normal drugstores. But how can you recognize them?

Finding Cruelty-Free Products in Your Drugstore

One of the easiest things you can do is just taking a product of the shelf and check its back. There you will probably find a good few symbols in addition to the instructions for use. If the well-known PETA bunny sign is among them, or any other trusted logo, you have a winning case, you can put the shampoo in the shopping cart! If you’re unsure, check out ethicalepelhant.com’s to get more information about rusted logos.

Just to make things a little more complicated, not all cruelty-free brands use such logos. That’s why we have another tip that can make the selection process more fun. There’s an app, Cruelty Cutter, that will make your job easier. The app is simple: it has an interface where you can scan the barcodes of products and – if the product is included in the system – if the product is in the system, it will immediately show you if it is cruelty-free or not. It’s easy, isn’t it?

Vegan and Cruelty-Free Products – What is the Difference?

Vegan cosmetics is another new trend which large companies use to entice more buyers. It is very important to know, however, that a vegan product is not necessarily animal-free! Being vegan simply means that they do not use any materials of animal origin in their production. (Cosmetics often contain, for example, beeswax or glycerine, which is obtained from animals.)

So even if a product is advertised as vegan in big letters, never forget to check if it has been tested on animals.  

Do Your Best to Buy Consciously

We are not saying that it will be easy to switch. The labyrinth of cruelty-free beauty products may seem complicated and confusing at first, but we can promise one thing: it is worth it. We know from my own experience that it is very difficult to leave behind well-loved cosmetics, body and skin care products and start researching cruelty-free versions. But with the tips mentioned above on how to identify cruelty-free cosmetics, it will be a lot easier for you! Just try it, it will be an adventure!

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barbara