The Trend of Vegan Cosmetics: Should You Be Following It Too?

Today trends are spreading more than the pandemic and people are following them blindly without even bothering whether it is doing good to them or harming them. Veganism is one such trend that is a good thing but not necessarily for all. So please check, double-check, triple-check (if needed) before you experiment with anything.

The Trend of Going Vegan

From celebs to common people the trend of turning vegan spread like fire and there is no sign of its stopping. Turning vegan means – a practice of boycotting the use or consumption of animal products and by-products in your diet and daily lifestyle. People have started switching to a vegan diet, vegan cosmetics, vegan products in the wake of love for animals. A lot are following the suit and are cutting off meat, dairy, and eggs from their diet as well as have stopped wearing leather, silk, and wool. Similarly, they are also opting for vegan cosmetics which means the products are free from animal ingredients or their by-products.

Vegan Cosmetics? Animal Ingredients? What on the Earth is the Meaning of all These?

We understand your confusion and some of you might be shocked as well but yes, there are animal products in our makeup, skincare, bath, and body care products about which a lot of us are unaware because they are mostly in the disguised form. Certain animal-derived ingredients and by-products like crushed up bugs, fat from slaughtered animals, and ground-up horns and claws, etc. are some of the common cosmetic ingredients used today.

“Vegan,” “Vegan-Friendly,” and “100% Vegan” cosmetics means beauty products that are made without materials of animal origin or their traces including beeswax and honey. The idea behind it is that all creatures have the right to life and freedom and that treating them cruelly or exploiting them for human gains is unacceptable.

Recommended: 5 Reasons Why Castor Wax Is Used In Natural Ingredients Based Skincare Products

There’s a lot of confusing jargon around vegan beauty. The terms like — “cruelty-free”, “organic”, “natural”, etc. are considered one and the same while they are all different. Vegan cosmetics do not mean that the product is 100 percent natural, organic, and/or not tested on animals. It also doesn’t imply that the product is chemical-free and won’t cause any allergic reaction. It simply means the absence of animal ingredients, and it’s possible for a vegan item to have been tested on an animal and contain other chemicals as well.

We hardly go through the ingredient list of our classic red lipstick, anti-aging eye creams, or shimmery nail polish which may contain animal ingredients like carmine (red dye obtained from crushed female cochineal scale insects), lanolin (wool wax), keratin, collagen, elastin (animal proteins derived from ground horns, hooves, claws, nails, hair, scales, tissues, and feathers of diverse vertebrates), ambergris (whale vomit), placenta (sheep organs), animal-derived glycerin and stearic acid, tallow (a rendered form of beef or mutton fat), pearl, silk, milk-derivatives, snail slime, fish and other marine derivatives, and more which although are claimed to be “naturally-derived” and “derived in a manner that doesn’t harm animals i.e. from dead animals or sourced as a by-product of the meat and the dairy industry or slaughterhouse wastes but, there are minimal to non-existent animal welfare policies protecting animals that are reared and used to manufacture ingredients for human use. Scary, isn’t it?

What Are The Alternatives?

Animal ingredients do serve as an excellent emollient, emulsifier, soothing agent, colorant, skin and hair conditioner, and many other purposes but there are alternatives to them as well. Luckily, there are some great vegetable and synthetic alternatives available now which serve the same purposes in cosmetics without compromising on quality or product performance.

Vegan cosmetics use ingredients that are either plant-based such as hydrogenated castor oil, aloe vera, jojoba oil, argan oil, vegetable glycerine made of soya, coconut oil, and palm oil, or are synthesized or made in a lab and are far from naturally derived or organically sourced. These alternatives mimic the functions of animal ingredients and hence give the same moisturizing, hydrating, smoothening, effects in cosmetic products.

Recommended: Why Cosmetic Manufacturers are shifting towards Organic Skincare Business

You will be surprised to know that hydrogenated castor oil has proven to be a great emulsifier, surfactant, and fragrance ingredient in cosmetic products than animal ingredients in the past few years which is why the demand for hydrogenated castor oil in skincare has shot up like never before with people switching to vegan beauty and cosmetic products.

The Myth of Vegan Cosmetics

People have misconceptions that vegan cosmetics are expensive, they are prone to allergic reactions and itchiness as they are plant-based, they are not long-lasting, they won’t give results like animal-based cosmetic products, etc. In fact, vegan cosmetics are way more beneficial than you can imagine.

• Vegan products are in fact much safer and skin-friendly as they contain fewer ingredients that are tested and have the natural ability to reduce skin irritation, itchiness, redness, etc.
• Vegan cosmetics reduce the strain on the environment by excluding animal products which are the key cause of environmental damage that include climate change, water depletion, and soil erosion.
• Vegan beauty products save the animals from getting killed or tortured for human gains.
• They are affordable and budget-friendly and are tried, tested, and certified with a vegan logo which proves that they eliminate animal suffering, reduce environmental impacts, and improve human health

So, It’s Time To Go Vegan?

Of course, it’s high time to switch to vegan cosmetics because a lot of damage has been done to animals already which must stop in order to maintain the balance of our ecosystem. But, before making the switch it is important to educate yourself about vegan cosmetics and read the ingredients well before buying any cosmetic product even if it’s vegan. Don’t feel bad or disheartened and run to dump everything that is animal-based right away after reading this article. You can learn more about veganism and make the switch slowly but definitely to save our animals and the planet Earth.

For starters, you can start with a simple vegan product and then turn vegan one step at a time.

Ambuja Solvex, the topmost hydrogenated castor oil manufacturer in India is the most trusted source for castor oil among cosmetic manufacturers as our products are 100% natural and pure just as the driven snow.