How to Buy Cruelty-Free Makeup

There's nothing beautiful about animal testing, and our animal (and insect) friends shouldn't have to sacrifice for our desire to be pretty. It's hard to believe, but many cosmetic companies still use cruel and inhumane testing methods on animals as well as animal by-product ingredients. Fortunately, you don't have to support these practices. It's easy to buy cruelty-free makeup. All you need is a little foresight and these simple steps.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Locate a list of cosmetic companies that do and do not test on animals. Websites such as PETA keep updated databases of makeup brands and their testing methods so you can make wise choices at the cosmetic counter.

2. Read ingredient labels. Just because a product advertises as "not tested on animals" does not mean it doesn't contain animal or insect products. Though labels are often difficult to decipher, look for ingredients such as stearic acid (made from sheep and cow fat) and carmine (a dye derived from crushed insects). Find a list of common animal ingredients at PETA's website.

3. Switch to vegan makeup. These products contain no animal ingredients at all. Cosmetic companies have come a long way in developing vegan products, and you'll find a huge selection of all the most popular makeup.

4. Shop online or in salons for cruelty-free makeup. Though many popular drugstore brands, such as Revlon and Almay, use cruelty-free practices, online stores such as Sephora and salon lines like Aveda offer a diverse variety of choices for every makeup product.

5. Vote with your dollar. Buying cruelty-free makeup supports animal rights movements and takes business away from companies that still use archaic and unnecessary testing practices. Your choice has impacts far beyond your reflection.

Tips & Warnings

• Look for cruelty-free and vegan products at health food and natural food stores. They often carry a small selection of beauty products.
• Check company lists often since animal rights groups such as PETA convince additional manufacturers every year to switch to humane testing and production.
• Be aware of the distinction between "natural" and "cruelty-free." Companies take advantage of consumers by advertising their products as "natural" when they may contain ingredients such as honey and beeswax, whose cultivation results in the death of millions of bees.

Resources

• PETA offers a wealth of information on living a cruelty-free life.
• Sephora has a huge variety of vegan and cruelty-free makeup products.

Who Can Help Sponsored

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[marthah]

on 9/14/2009 I heart this! I've been slowly switching over to cruelty-free beauty products and am pleased with how easy it is to find such products at reasonable prices at a drugstore. My cat was a rescue kitty and every time I look at his scars, I'm sickened by the thought of the helpless animals being abused in the name of a new beauty product. I consider myself a product junkie, but that makes it pretty easy to pass up the 'hot brands' that I know are NOT cruelty-free. I'm voting with my beauty dollars and saying an emphatic NO! to animal testing.

[maureenh]

on 8/14/2009 Poisoning large numbers of animals by forcing them to ingest a product (LD 50 test) or blinding them by dripping shampoo into their eyes (Draize test)is so cruel that you do not need to be a PETA supporter or animal activist to be horrified. Such tests do not in any way make a product safer for people either. Nor are they required by law. Alternative modern tests are available that do not harm animals and are much more reliable anyway than the outdated animal tests that have been used for decades. Increasing numbers of companies and consumers are saying no to animal tests, and it is now easy to find a range of products produced without cruelty. No animal actually needs to die for yet another lipstick or yet another household cleaner, and it is appalling that many major comapnies still refuse to give up animal testing.

[misstori1958]

on 4/17/2008 Give me a break! Would you rather have a number of humans have an adverse effect or isn't better to test on animals. PETA IS FOR THE BIRDS!