As veganism and animal rights forever come to the fore, there’s one beauty buzzword that we should all be paying attention to – cruelty-free. More consumers than ever are focusing on products not tested on animals. After all, few things are more liable to belittle your beauty in 2020 than the knowledge that innocent animals have suffered for your blush. If you’re anything like most, the growing awareness of this pressing beauty-based problem has left you reluctant to use even your old favorites.
The trouble is that awareness aside, pursuing a cruelty-free path on your beauty quest is far from easy. In fact, there’s still a surprising amount of misinformation and misunderstanding about what exactly is the ‘right’ thing to do.
Photo by Diana Ruseva on Unsplash
The good news is that there is a reasonably fool-proof path to a cruelty-free habit you can sustain at last, and we’re going to show you precisely what that is.
1. Use it, don’t chuck it
Many people fall at the first hurdle of their cruelty-free beauty regime by replacing old, animal-tested products and chucking them in attempts to ‘do their bit.’ The trouble is that, far from helping the animals, this is an insane waste that’s going to do more harm than good. Instead, start looking for and even stocking cruelty-free alternatives while you carry on using the products you’ve got. Then, once those existing items are empty, you can focus on repurchasing solely animal-friendly options. Not only does this save you money and buy you time, but it makes sure you’re never falling foul to waste traps where beauty consumption is concerned. And, seeing as waste also poses significant risks to our wildlife, that’s a guaranteed way to get off on the right footing.
2. Make your own
Understanding the cruelty-free world can be complicated, and perhaps the easiest way to get on top here, at last, would be to make your own where you can. This way, you’ll know exactly where your beauty products come from and what goes into them. A guarantee that, sadly, is lacking where shop-bought options are concerned. Obviously, you’ll need to be realistic. Making mascara, for instance, may not be as easy as you expect. Still, there are plenty of things you can recreate. Soap is a fantastic option, and it’s possible to buy everything from the base oils to the right colorants for soap that looks the part. Bath products are another fantastic option here and are astoundingly easy to get right. You could even make lipstick or moisturizers from scratch if you simply do a little research into how to get it right.
Not only does this teach you a fantastic new skill, but it also takes money from the hands of corporations who may otherwise be funding the cruelty you’re attempting to avoid. Equally, this saves you all the hassle that often keeps us from actually pursuing the cruelty-free path. Instead, you’ll be able to enjoy beauty products without once having to worry whether you’ve got the right information or not.
3. If in doubt, look for the leaping bunny
You’d think that finding cruelty-free brands would be simple, but there’s a lot more to it than meets the eye. The last few years, in particular, have seen brands that seem cruelty-free on the face of things either investing or accepting buyouts from animal testing frontrunners. As such, even a brand that seems okay themselves may profit from the testing you’re attempting to avoid in some roundabout way.
This fact, mixed with varied and sometimes conflicting information, can leave us at a real loss as to which brands we can actually invest in and trust. That’s why many people starting out find it useful to instead use the leaping bunny as a guide for where to spend their cash. The only official recognition of approved cruelty-free companies, the leaping bunny symbol is perhaps the most definite way for you to ensure that your money is going towards a good cause. Even better, this bunny is distinctive and clearly displayed where relevant.
In general terms, it’s also worth noting that a brand in its entirety must be cruelty-free before receiving this seal of approval. As such, if one item in a range has the leaping bunny on it, you can rest pretty easy that you’re safe to invest in the rest of those products. As simple as that, you may find that beauty shopping becomes as easy as it ever was.
Photo by Charisse Kenion on Unsplash
4. Download an app to keep yourself updated
There are now many fantastic apps aimed towards cruelty-free beauty pursuits like yours, and downloading one is well worth your while. This is the case even if you’ve already done copious amounts of research because apps are typically updated daily to help you know what’s going on at all times.
The world of animal testing moves fast, remember, and, while we might like to think things are moving for the better, that’s rarely the case. While some brands are sitting up and paying attention, we’re seeing many more investing in third parties and other such problematic issues. As fast as it takes one investor deal to go through, your trusted ‘safe’ brand could be thrown into question.
To ensure that you don’t make purchasing mistakes due to outdated information, keep an app on your phone that allows you to scan the barcodes of each beauty product before you buy it. That way, you can rest 100% easy that you’re doing cruelty-free right every single time.
Conclusion
Transforming to a cruelty-free beauty regime can be incredibly satisfying from every angle. Not only do you get a whole new makeup store, but you get to use it without the growing guilt that’s been haunting your morning regime of late. What’s more, this needn’t be the minefield you think it is. While there’s no denying that going cruelty-free can feel a little overwhelming, keeping these pointers in place should see you bossing it in no time.
