Have you ever found yourself scrolling or finding skincare products in a store or on a website and noticed something unique?
Maybe you’ve noticed a high number of skincare brands labeled as “cruelty free,” “all-natural,” or “vegan” and you wondered what makes these skincare brands different from skincare brands who don’t market themselves as vegan, natural, and cruelty free?
If you’ve noticed this new category of skincare which is vegan skincare and have no clue what it means, then look no further. Here’s the breakdown.
What Is Vegan Skincare?
Here I’m explaining you the secret of vegan skincare. So basically,vegan skincare is associated with using products that are not derived from animals or animal by product. It rejects the ideology of using animals for making the skin better.
What Does Veganism Actually Mean?
Veganism doesn’t mean not just to reject animal meat like chicken,beef,mutton and others but it focuses on rejecting products of animals like dairy,eggs,milk ,wool, honey,bees wax.
What Does a Vegan Friendly Routine Can Do?
By using alternative products instead of vegan products,we can cope with our ecosystem to which we interact.
By developing and maintaining a vegan -friendly routine,we can reduce the fear of animals who can’t live freely because they fear getting killed and used.
Vegan friendly routines can help us in making our ecosystem friendly with us.
Vegan Skincare On Rise
The vegan skincare industry is currently a $16.9 billion industry with the expectation of expansion to $25.9 billion by 2030. With the growing interest in vegan skincare, the question arises why are people drowning towards it?
One reason can be that people like vegan skincare is because it matches their lifestyle and values. They want the products that reflect what they actually are.
You don’t have to be vegan to use vegan skincare.
Some people use vegan skincare products because they are suitable for their skin and they want a smooth texture of the skin and others use it because they want to support brands that are focusing on environment friendly products.
What Veganism Actually Focuses On?
Veganism basically focuses on freedom of animals.Veganism doesn’t mean to remove only animal derived products from your skincare routine, but it focuses on removing every animal derived products from your daily life.
For example, using clothes that are made from wool , other accessories like leather shoes that are made from the skin of snakes and medicines that are made from the venom of many other animals.
Why Is It Important To Shift To Vegan Skincare?
Here I am explaining some benefits received by you and your environment if you are vegan friendly.
- Reduces The Aggravation Of Skin
Vegan products are through organic and inorganic ingredients that tend to be gentler to the sensitive skin. These products contain less ingredients that are not harmful for any kind of skin and don’t cause any reaction or allergies to the skin.
- Reduce The Strain On The Environment By Excluding Animal Products
According to the report of the United Nations Environment Programme (2010), killing of animals for various purposes is the major cause of environmental issues. These issues can be water depletion,climate change, soil erosion, deforestation etc.
If we stop using animals for our daily life purpose,it will help in building an environment friendly and sustainable ecosystem which reduces the negative impact of the environment too.
- Avoid cruelty against animals
Veganism avoids cruelty against animals. The products that are incorporated to veganism are also refrained to have tests on animals which are cruelty free.
It means that it doesn’t kill or harm animals only to see the reaction of their products. The tests that are taken to only see the reactions of the products derived from animals, are painful to animals and result in causing deaths of the animals.
All Vegan Friendly Products Mean Cruelty Free?
Isn’t it interesting to know whether all vegan friendly products are cruelty free or not?
You must note that not all vegan friendly products are cruelty free and one should avoid using such products if we want to refrain from being cruel to animals in every aspect of our lives.
What Are The Ingredients And Compositions That You Should Avoid In Order To Move To A Vegan Friendly Skincare Routine?
To check whether the product is vegan friendly or not ,you should read the ingredients mentioned at the back of the packaging. Sometimes it is clearly mentioned in the packaging of the products that the product is vegan free or not.
You should be familiar with the scientific names of some animals that are used commonly.
Products That Are Derived From Animals And Their Alternatives
- Honey
Honey is derived from bees. It heals the skin and is mostly used as emollients which helps in softening the skin and the texture of the skin.
Do you know what the alternatives would be?
Oh yes,I’m with the list of alternatives of honey that are aloe vera and many kinds of oil like jojoba oil,argan oil etc.
- Gelatin
It is a translucent, colourless, flavourless ingredient that is derived from the body parts of the animals by boiling skin,tendons , ligaments and bones of the animals.
It is mostly found in facial creams ,sunscreens ,lotions,face masks and others.
Isn’t it cruel?
But we still use gelatin in our products.
We should use the alternative of gelatin which would be Agar-agar powder which helps in softening and moisturising the skin along with thickening of the product.
- Glycerine
Glycerine is derived from the fats of the animals.It is used for many purposes but mainly for moisturizing the skin to treat dry and itchy skin.
A suitable alternative for glycerine could be Vegetable Glycerine which is made of Soya, and oils like Coconut Oil and Palm Oil.
- Retinol
It is Vitamin A that is derived from animals.
Retinol is used as an anti aging product and also results in decreasing pigmentation and de coloration of the skin. It reduces the fine lines and wrinkles from the skin.
The animal based retinol is derived from the yolks of the eggs and fish liver oil. Fish oil also contains Vitamin D.
An alternative to retinol could be carotenoid, which is an orange and yellow pigment that gives colour to plants like carrots, tomatoes and autumn leaves.
- Makeup brushes
Mostly,makeup brushes are made from the hair of animals like squirrels,horses and goats.
Vegan brushes are mainly made from the synthetic ingredients like taklon and nylon by doing justice with animals.
- Estrogen Or Estradiol
Estrogen is mainly secreted in females and it is derived from the urine of pregnant horses. It helps in keeping the skin hydrated and increases sebum production.
Phytoestrogens, which are derived from plants, can act as a great alternative for this.
Conclusion
The main purpose of using vegan skincare is the idea that every creature has a right to live in full freedom without any fear of getting killed or tortured. It gives rise to the use of alternative products instead of using animals.
