The Vegan Lifestyle also means Focus on Care Products
It can be difficult to navigate whether a beauty product is vegan or not. So why do we use ingredients from animals? The explanation is that we have invented and developed beauty products over time, we have been inspired by nature and used the materials it makes available.
It is only in recent times that we have had enough knowledge about chemistry and production to be able to produce many of the ingredients we use in cosmetics today safely and effectively from other sources, and therefore have been dependent on selected ingredients from animals. It is often impossible to discern whether a product contains vegan ingredients because many ingredients used in cosmetics can both be derived from animals or be synthetically produced. A good example is glycerin, which is one of the most widely used ingredients in beauty products. Glycerin is an effective moisturizer and is therefore often found in skincare. The substance is made from fats and these can come from plants or animals.
Although many ingredients can be difficult to put the vegan label on, there are some common animal substances that are widely used and that you can easily navigate around if you just know their names.
Carmine
Carmine is a red dye that is extracted from beetles by crushing them. The reason why it is widely used in cosmetics is that it is difficult to achieve the same clear, red color when using dyes from other sources. In the list of ingredients, it appears as “Carmines”, “Cochineal” or “CI 75470”.
Beeswax
Beeswax is produced by bees and is the material from which they build their nest. In cosmetics, it is used to stabilize, viscosity check, or “stiffen” the product - for example in the production of lipstick. On the ingredient list, it appears as “Beeswax” or “Cera Alba”.
Honey
Honey is also widely used in beauty products where it has moisture-binding and caring properties. On the ingredient list, it appears as “Honey”.
Queen food
This ingredient is also derived from bees and is a substance that queen bees consume throughout their life and which has a life-prolonging effect on the bees. In cosmetics, the ingredient is often used as an anti-aging and moisturizer. On the ingredient list, it appears as “Royal Jelly”.
Lanolin
Lanolin is a fat found in sheep’s wool and used as a moisturizer in cosmetic products. You will find it especially in lip balms and hand creams. In the list of ingredients, it appears as “Lanolin”.
If you are still sitting and are in doubt about what to look for when shopping. Then we have found three brands that can help you along the way. The body shop does have vegan products, and in the picture, you can see the mark ‘’Vegan’’. The next one is the mark from dema where you need to look for the ‘’flower-vegan’’ mark.
Celina, Rose & Kamilla
Københavns Professionshøjskole