Vegan Skincare: What's The Difference, Does It Work And Is It For You?

The vegan lifestyle is more than just a diet and health trend. While people have different views about it, there’s no doubt that vegan products, including skincare and cosmetics, are inescapably becoming popular fuelled by influencers, celebrities, and social media.

Bill Clinton, Beyonce, Natalie Portman, Ariana Grande, and others have expressed their transition to veganism. Curious how popular the lifestyle is? Just type the hashtag #veganism on Instagram, and you’ll get over 8.5 million posts about it. Whether you’re planning to adopt this lifestyle or would like to know more about the benefits of vegan skincare, you’re in the right place.

What is Vegan skincare?

Veganism is a way of living that seeks to exclude all forms of exploitation or cruelty as far as possible and practicable to animals for the sake of consumption, whether it’s for food, clothing, and any other use. That said, vegan brands don't sell skincare products with animals or animal byproducts in ingredients like milk and cheese.

Vegan brands don't use the ingredients that most commercial brands have in their skincare and cosmetics. For example, beeswax, lanolin, collagen, keratin, hyaluronic acid, and squalene are commonly used in serums, moisturizers, and cleansers.

Alternatively, vegan brands are geared towards plant-based ingredients. For example, glycerin is an effective moisturizing agent and can be derived from animal fats. Its vegan counterpart can be soy, coconut, or palm oil. Moreover, some brands can even source hyaluronic acid ethically from rooster combs or bacterial fermentation for vegan skincare. Hyaluronic acid is used in most anti-aging products that can reduce wrinkles. Fortunately, the Cell Hydrating Serum with Hyaluronic and Ferulic Acid from Dermaboss is a 100% vegan skincare that doesn't break the bank yet smoothen the wrinkles.

What’s the difference between Vegan skincare and cruelty-free skincare?

So, if the skincare isn’t derived from animals, does that mean it’s vegan and cruelty-free? Not quite so. Cruelty-free skincare doesn’t mean it’s 100% vegan because the label isn't about the animal ingredients in the products.

Cruelty-free means the product is not tested on animals before being available commercially. Besides, when it's vegan skincare or 100% vegan, the product itself doesn’t have ingredients derived from animals or byproducts of animals.

Cruelty-free products, although they were not tested on animals, may have ingredients from animals or animal byproducts. They can be ethically sourced but may not be 100% vegan.

So, make sure you check the labels, as some brands will explicitly show that the items are both vegan and cruelty-free. For example, Dermaboss, a vegan skincare brand that uses all-natural plant-based ingredients, is transparent in showing not just what's in every bottle but also includes 100% vegan and cruelty-free labels.

How to identify Vegan skincare products?

Aside from checking the ingredients, there are other ways to check if the skincare products are vegan. PETA, the world’s largest animal rights organization, gives two labels that you can check: ‘vegan and cruelty-free.’

You may also join the Vegan Society, the oldest and largest educational and charitable organization that provides veganism information. It also has a database of brands that have a vegan trademark for easy product search.

On top of that, you can also download mobile apps like Animal-Free to find out if the product is animal-derived or plant-based, and also for ethically sourced products, and you can try the Bunny Free and Cruelty-Cutter.

What are the benefits of using Vegan skincare products?

In case you want to transition to this lifestyle or want to try vegan skincare, here are some of the range of benefits:

A kinder way of living — knowing that the products you’re using don’t harm animals, the choice of products and way of living gives you a clear conscience as a consumer. You’re contributing to a safer environment and helps preserve animals.

Sustainability and care for the environment — raising animals requires massive land, water, food, and energy, according to PETA. If consumers still gear towards an animal-based lifestyle, it lessens the negative impact on the environment. Aside from a kinder lifestyle to the environment, you'll also contribute to sustaining the natural resources and cultivate more compassion towards animals.

Beneficial to your skin's glow and effective in anti-aging products — plant-based alternatives such as coconut oil, olive oil, shea butter, aloe vera, garlic, to name a few, have been used for centuries that offer a ton of benefits for the skin and have healing properties. Vegan brands like Refresh Skin Therapy use purified soy, rice, and yeast in anti-aging products. Peptide+ Intense Eye Recovery Serum that totally works like magic as it reduces puffiness and dark circles. This only means that with the right combination of plant-based ingredients, they can do wonders to your skin effortlessly.

Is Vegan skincare for you?

Vegan skincare products offer a wide range of benefits, and since ethical brands use plant-based ingredients, you'll enjoy the richness of vitamins, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory properties. Not to mention anti-aging power. So, if you can live without lanolin, an excellent moisturizer but derived from sheep wool grease or beeswax from the honeycomb, then you're on the right footing for this lifestyle, especially if you have sensitive skin.

If you're struggling with stubborn zits and acne, look for plant-based ingredients with gentle fruit acids. You may want to try Fruit Acid Gel Facial Peel with 5-star reviews and has ingredients derived from grapes and sugar cane, which gently exfoliate your skin without scrubbing and irritation.

However, just because it’s vegan and cruelty-free, it doesn’t mean that you’re spared from irritation or allergies. So, before jumping or shifting to this lifestyle, make sure you do your homework and check the label if they are ‘preservatives-free’ because some preservatives can irritate your skin. Brands like Refresh Skin Therapy have fully disclosed that the products have a shelf-life of six months once opened.

All in all, whether you want to go full vegan or want to explore a few skincare, there are excellent products in the market that you can try that match your skin type.