Can a beauty addict really go green?
It’s a planet-conscious lifestyle followed by millions. Now, veganism is spreading from the kitchen to your bathroom…
THE NUMBER OF VEGANS has risen by over 360% in the past decade, so it’s not surprising that vegan beauty is fast becoming big news. ‘ Vegan beauty’ is one of the most searched for terms on Google, and a growing crop of brands are shaking things up and offering effective – and chic – beauty products with a true vegan ethic. Brands like It Cosmetics, Le Labo, The Ordinary and Aesop might not fit the traditional image of vegan ranges, with their selfie-worthy packaging and results-driven formulations. But that’s the thing about today’s vegan beauty offerings – instead of making a big deal of their ‘conscious’ credentials, they take a vegan-by-default approach and let their products do the talking. Keen to get involved? Us too…
You don’t have to subscribe to the diet to give vegan beauty a whirl. But what does the term ‘vegan’ actually mean when we’re talking beauty? ‘ When we assess if a product is vegan, we ensure that no animal-derived ingredients are used in the product, including manufacturing,’ explains Abigail Stevens, Vegan Society trademark relation officer. Even if you check the labels of your products, you’d be hard-pressed to spot some of these ‘animal-derived’ ingredients. Beeswax is an obvious one, but take carmine – often found in red lipsticks and also listed as ‘crimson lake’ or ‘natural red 4’. It’s actually crushed beetle shell. Likewise, fish scales (often used to make sparkly metallic make-up) are listed as guanine, making it hard for the untrained eye to spot.
‘ We also check that the products and their ingredients have not been tested on animals,’ says Abigail. You’d be forgiven for thinking that shouldn’t be a concern today, but sadly it is. By law, any product sold in the EU can’t be tested on animals – the problem lies with beauty brands that also trade in China, where it’s illegal to sell products that havenõt been tested on animals. This means that many brands aren’t cruelty-free outside of the EU at all. Here’s our edit of the best vegan products around...