Unearthing Vegan Beauty
With Veganism becoming increasingly popular, there’s never been as much choice of animal-free, vegan beauty products. But it can sometimes be confusing checking for various logos, ingredients, and what is and isn’t accurately marketed to you.
Our skin is our largest organ, and it absorbs around 60% of what we put onto it. This goes straight into our bloodstream, because there is no filtration system, as with digestion. So if you don’t want to absorb animal-based ingredients from the beauty products you use, opt for those with the vegan icon on their packaging to be sure you’re following the animal-friendly lifestyle you’re attaining to.
How do I know if the product is vegan?
Vegan beauty holds the same principle as a vegan diet; they don’t contain animal ingredients, but instead, rely on botanicals. As a result, they often boast more vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, which repair and hydrate skin and hair more effectively. Commonly used animal ingredients in products such as moisturisers, fragrances, cleansers, and soaps are Beeswax, lanolin, uric acid, collagen, gelatin, squalene, and carmine. Natural alternatives would be coconut oil, argan oil, hemp seed extracts, aloe vera, algae, and many more. The simplest way to check if a product is vegan is to ensure it features the Certified Vegan logo on its packaging.
How to tell if a perfume product is vegan?
Sadly, when it comes to fragrance specifically, it is harder to find out about any animal inclusions because the law does not require perfumers to share their ingredients list. Often time, they are kept as trade secrets to prevent competitors from copying. The truth is that animal products have been key to perfume compositions to give more strength. Some may argue that these scents are extracted without killing animals, but the forms of extraction are often unclear on how ethical they are. But to make your life simpler, our Brûmée perfumes rely solely on natural fragrances. We have a selection of natural scents including water lily, jasmine, cotton flower, and white peony for you to choose.
Do vegan products have a shorter shelf life?
It’s true that preservative-free vegan products may have a slightly shorter shelf life. But of course, if you plan to use them immediately, this isn’t an issue. Who wants cupboards full of old, half-used skincare anyway? Some products might also contain non-animal-derived preservatives, in which case their shelf life could be as long as non-vegan items.
Are vegan products suitable for certain skin types?
Vegan beauty products can be targeted just as with their non-vegan counterparts, but it is believed that vegan skincare can often be beneficial for those with sensitive skin. The fewer and cleaner the ingredients, the more soothing and less irritating on the complexion, so people could see an improvement of skin conditions such as rashes, acne, dry skin, and rosacea. That said, of course, allergic reactions to certain plant ingredients are possible too, so do always check the ingredients before use for any known allergies.
Are all vegan products cruelty-free and organic?
If a product carries the Certified Vegan logo, then it means no containment of animal products or byproducts, no animals have been harmed or tested on when processing the product nor any of the ingredients it includes. For non-vegan items, check if it has the Cruelty Free bunny logo to ensure it has not been tested on animals. However, being a vegan item does not imply that it’s organic. Look out for the separate organic certification on the packaging if being organic is something that’s important to you.
Why should you use vegan beauty products?
As mentioned, vegan products are free of animal ingredients or any animal-abuse throughout its manufacturing process. When it comes to fragrances specifically, animal products are not necessary. Natural ingredients provide a high quality and long-lasting scent. So if you’re in the process of cleaning up your kitchen cupboards to follow the vegan trend, remember to do your beauty products too. And thanks to veganism now becoming so mainstream, there are many affordable products to choose from. Again, take a look at our Brûmée products if you think vegan ethos suits you, and check out our guide to buying fragrance online.
Aside from all the benefits to us from using vegan products, let’s take a moment to consider the little animals themselves. The less consumption of non-vegan products, the fewer animals killed for our vanity. Surely that can only be a beautiful thing.