Cruelty-free makeup seems to be enjoying a real buzz at the moment, considering the fact that 2019 was declared ‘The Year of the Vegan’. This ongoing trend for making more conscious lifestyle choices has also helped the campaign for a more ethical beauty industry in a massive way.
It may have been considered impossible to find sustainable and ethical cosmetics years ago, but nowadays the market abounds in such products. The best part of it all? You can find them at convenient prices that won’t break your bank. In other words, today, it’s easier than ever to become a conscious consumer and make some groundbreaking changes with your beauty care routine.
It’s certainly been a push for brands to do some novel thinking, implementing innovation and technology. With more and more people becoming aware of the positive impact of buying and using eco-friendly and ethical beauty products, all that is certainly at the benefit of both cosmetic brands and customers. There’s a variety of affordable products on the market that’s continuously growing.
Benefits of Making the Change
You may have adopted some sustainable conscious habits at home. You’re probably trying to cut down your waste and carbon footprint. But unless you’ve switched to using ethical cosmetics, the truth of the matter is, you’re not making much of a difference, given the size of the cosmetics industry.
Ethical beauty products are cruelty-free – they haven’t been tested on animals, so by opting for this alternative, you show that you care for the animals even if you’re not vegetarian or vegan. Likewise, choosing organic and ethical beauty also implies you make way for natural ingredients in your pampering. Organic products greatly differ from chemical ones which besides being bad for your overall health, may also cause redness and itchiness to your skin.
Once you introduce natural products into your beauty routine, you will start noticing that your skin is more plump, healthy and rejuvenated. And who doesn’t want that?
Besides, when you make way for ethical cosmetics, you start paying more attention to the way you shop – you’ll become more mindful with your purchases and only buy the items you truly need. This will help you save up more and produce less waste as a result.
So Much More than Makeup
The moment you start looking through the different brands and their products, you’ll realize that ethical cosmetics offer more than just makeup. You’ll come across ethical brushes and various nutritional powder blends formulated for those with active lifestyles to help them reach their fitness goals.
In other words, there’s an organic animal-free alternative to almost any conventional beauty product. This stems from conscious shoppers who need something better than products tested on animals, including brushes and beauty tools made of animal hair, or supplements containing ingredients like protein or beeswax coming from killed and alive animals.
The innovative solutions implemented in creating replacements have made it possible to have much more affordable and durable beauty tools made of synthetic hair, and organic supplements containing vegan ingredients, as in the case with bio-fermented pea protein.
Raised Awareness
What’s the additional benefit of using ethical products? You become aware of the ingredients used in regular products so you won’t just buy for the sake of buying! If you weren’t in the habit of actually checking the ingredients before, you’ll start doing so after you decide to make way for organic items on your shelves.
Collagen, keratin, guanine, acetyl glucosamine are some of the most common animal-derived ingredients that are found in conventional cosmetics. Phthalates, PEGs, formaldehyde-releasing preservatives, BHA, BHT, and parabens to name a few are some of the most used chemicals you can find in various items, from deodorants to moisturizers, perfumes, skin cleaners, as well as cream-based products.
What this means is that even if you’ve decided to stick to a healthy diet, you still use harsh products in your day-to-day life that can wreak havoc on your body, unless you make the switch to organic ethical beauty.
Conscious Shopper
Thanks to the extensive range of products from ethical brands, it’s not mission impossible to make the change. However, this doesn’t mean you’re exactly safe from scams either because there’s been a great deal of greenwashing lately, so being prudent is mandatory.
In order to differentiate between a reputable brand and one that’s not, you should always check for the ingredients in each and every product you intend to buy, regardless of whether you buy it from a brick-and-mortar store or online. Then again, even if you think you’ve found your ideal cruelty-free ethical cosmetics brand, you should always do your research and double-check their reviews and rating.
When possible, it’s advisable to ask for samples so you can test the products you’ve selected on your skin to see if you have an allergic reaction before you buy them. You can never know which ingredient might trigger a reaction. And by all means, stick to the application instructions!
