What Is Vegan Makeup? A Guide to Animal-Friendly Beauty
Vegan makeup is made up of makeup products with animal-friendly ingredients. In short, the vegan makeup featured in any animal-friendly beauty guide contains no animal-derived ingredients. It's ideal for anyone who cares about animal rights and values an ethical approach to beauty.
To start your animal-friendly beauty routine:
- You can use vegan makeup brands.
- You can choose natural makeup products with plant-based ingredients.
- You can opt for mineral pigments instead of carmine.
- You can look into synthetic alternatives.
- You can buy products with botanical ingredients.
- Beyond ingredients, you can also choose products that are not tested on animals.
What Is Vegan Makeup?
Vegan makeup means the makeup products contain no ingredients derived from animals. "Vegan" and "cruelty-free" often get mixed up, but here's the difference: cruelty-free makeup means the product was not tested on animals. Using products that are both vegan and cruelty-free fits an animal-friendly mindset.
How Can You Tell If a Makeup Product Is Vegan?
When vegan cosmetics are launched, or when products hit the market as vegan, you may see labels like these on the packaging: Vegan, vegan formula, 100% vegan.
What Are the Benefits of Vegan Makeup?
- Because vegan makeup contains no animal-derived ingredients, it embraces an ethical, animal-conscious approach. That approach can help you feel good about what you use, too.
- Animal-friendly cosmetics are usually lightweight, so they don't feel heavy on your skin.
- Because they contain plant-based ingredients, they fall into the clean makeup category.
- Vegan makeup looks natural on your skin and offers skincare benefits.
- Because they have moisturizing properties, they help soothe your skin.
Which Ingredients Are Not Found in Vegan Makeup?
From our answers to "What is vegan makeup?" and "how can you tell if a makeup product is vegan?", we agree that vegan makeup contains no animal-derived ingredients. So what are these animal-derived ingredients? Here are some that shouldn't be found in vegan products.
1. Carmine: A red pigment commonly used in lipsticks and blushes. Because it's derived from insects, you won't find carmine in vegan makeup. Instead, you'll find mineral pigments or other coloring ingredients.
2. Lanolin: An oil used to moisturize the skin or lips. It comes from sheep's wool. Instead of this animal-derived oil, vegan products use coconut oil, jojoba oil, or shea butter. Like lanolin, these plant oils deeply moisturize the skin and lips.
3. Beeswax: Since beeswax comes from animals, plant waxes or synthetic materials are used instead.
4. Keratin: Plant proteins are used instead of keratin, which is typically found in hair and nail products.
5. Honey: As we all know, honey comes from bees, so vegan products use glycerin or aloe vera instead.
Does Vegan Makeup Perform Well Enough?
The answer depends on what you expect from your makeup, but if you want a natural finish that melts into your skin and gives you a healthy, lively look, vegan makeup performs well enough.
Even though many people think vegan makeup products fall short, they actually hold up very well compared to heavy cosmetic products. They also give your skin skincare benefits. The fact that vegan makeup products are lightweight and deeply moisturizing doesn't mean they don't perform.
Many vegan products help your makeup last a long time. They're highly pigmented and come in vivid colors. And because they have clean ingredients, they blend into your skin easily. A natural finish puts an end to an artificial look. Light makeup always beats heavy makeup that looks fake, and it still feels like a professional makeup look on your skin.