Cruelty-free beauty products are free from any animal-derived substances. If you decide to buy such products, you really make the difference and contribute to reducing animal suffering. Make conscious choices!
Currently, veganism and vegetarianism, are getting more and more popular all over the world. We can get vegetarian meals and products everywhere, even if we go to a small restaurant. We are no longer surprised by people who stop eating meat. Our consciousness of the lives of animals is increasing, we are flooded by the videos and photos featuring animals in captivity, mistreated, used for testing different products, which soon leads to their death. It makes most of us heartbroken so we take a decision to stop contributing to animal suffering.
Cruelty-free beauty products
Usually the packaging says if a product has been tested on animals. Make sure that semi-products haven’t been tested on them either. If you can’t find the information on the box, send a query to the manufacturer or seek it online. There are lists written by the animal rights groups featuring cruelty-free brands and they seem to be the most reliable – the activists are powerful enough to examine and verify any data provided by the cosmetic companies.
Cruelty-free beauty products
There are two types of animal-derived ingredients:
- made using animal parts such as bones, skin, fat.
- made using products of animal origin such as lanolin.
Most vegetarians accept products from the other group so they use honey and dairy products while vegans use none.
How to find cruelty-free products?
Contrary to appearances, this isn’t always the easiest thing to do. See our list featuring forbidden substances in cruelty-free beauty products:
- collagen – protein found in mammals.
- elastin – animal-derived protein.
- keratin – protein produced by the epidermal cells of mammals.
- ambergris – substance produced from the digestive system of sperm whales (one of the largest mammals).
- musk – fragrance substance extracted from the glands of muskrats or musk deer.
- civet – thick substance produced from the glands of the mammals belonging to the civet family.
- lanolin – wax secreted by the sebaceous glands of sheep, bunnies, llamas and camels.
- chitosan – produced from the shells of crustaceans.
Stearic acid is another animal-derived substance – it’s saturated with the fatty acid extracted from the animal tallow (used in soaps and balms). Silk is another example, produced while cooking the silkworms. Vitamin A added to cosmetics, on the other hand, may be derived from fish.
What’s inside the cruelty-free beauty products?
The diversity that plants have to offer is more than enough to replace animal-origin substances. Let’s take a look at ingredients you can find in cruelty-free beauty products. The examples include algae extract, aloe, arnica oil, camomile, Senegal Gum. These powerful substances are rich in amino acids to soften the skin and head off premature aging. They are extremely valuable and have a beneficial effect on the condition of skin.
Cruelty-free = Eco-friendly ?
Not necessarily. Products formulated without animal-derived substances and not tested on animals don’t always meet the standards for ecologically-friendly products.
Hands down the trend for cruelty-free products makes animals suffer less. People start thinking and analyzing a product and its ingredients before they buy it.
Why didn’t they put their mind to this issue in the past? Surely most of them were unaware of the conditions that animals live in. If you are one of them, it’s time to say NO to animal-derived ingredients in your beauty products!
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