WHAT MELANIE EATS

Non-Vegan Cosmetic Ingredients

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Some common weird-and-not-so-wonderful ingredients you can expect to find in your cosmetics are:

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Lanolin (skincare, moisturiser, conditioner, creamy cosmetics like lipstick)

the greasy build-up on the skin of wool-bearing mammals which are kept in high temperatures to make them sweat heavily

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Tallow/stearic acid/sodium salts (eye makeup, lipstick, makeup bases and foundations, £5 notes!)

animal fat made by boiling the carcasses of slaughtered animals until a fatty substance is produced

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Gelatin/gel/hide glue/gelatine/isinglass (creamy cosmetics and nail treatments)

the boiled skin, tendons, ligaments and bones of animals (yes, it's the same as the gelatine in jelly sweets and marshmallows)

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Estrogen/Estradiol/Premarin (perfumes, restorative creams/lotions)

extracted from the urine of pregnant horses

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Guanine (in mascaras, nail polishes and lipsticks)

a light-diffusing crystalline material found in crushed fish scales

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Carmine/Cochineal Dye E120 (lipsticks and blush products, shampoos, red tinted products)

intense red dye made by boiling, drying, then crushing up female tree-dwelling cochineal beetles

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Keratin/Detoxin/Hydrolyzed Protein (hair and nail care products)

protein from ground up hooves, hair, feathers, horns, and quills

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Musk (perfumes)

dried secretion painfully obtained from the genitals of the otter, beaver, musk deer, civet cat

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Cruelty-free cosmetics

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A European Law implemented in 2013 has made it illegal to test finished cosmetic products and cosmetic ingredients on animals, even if the testing was done outside of Europe.

However, although companies can't sell animal-tested cosmetics in Europe, they can still do this around the world.

Chinese regulations dictate that any cosmetic product sold there must be tested on animals. This means that any company that sells their products in China (excluding Hong Kong) is not cruelty-free.

 

Another difficulty in shopping cruelty free, is having to consider that, whilst a brand may be cruelty free, its parent company may not be. For example, The Body Shop has historically had a firm policy of not testing on animals. They have been bought by L'Oreal who sell in China and therefore are responsible for animal testing being conducted. The Body Shop's cosmetics are now not considered fully cruelty-free.

Some argue that by supporting cruelty free brands and buying their products, you are still sending a message to the parent company that you want them to be cruelty free, but I personally feel that I am giving money to the corporation that is making money from the suffering of animals; something I am not comfortable with.