15 Cruelty-Free Skincare Brands to Boost Your Natural Radiance!

What does cruelty-free mean?

Cruelty-free means that a product has not been tested on animals. However, since there is no legal definition for this term, brands are able to affix the claim to finished products only, leaving a loophole in which the individual ingredients can still have been tested on animals at some point. Therefore, when shopping for cosmetics, you’ll need to check whether the brand specifies that neither ingredients nor finished product has been tested on animals. Most conscious brands already supply this information so if you don’t see it readily available, it could be a bad sign.

What is animal testing?

Animal testing is the usage of animals in medical experimentation or to determine product safety. From Ancient Greece through to modern day, animal testing has existed for as long as humans have been practicing medical experiments. In the cosmetic and skincare fields, animals are most commonly used to observe allergic reactions while ingredients are topically applied, force-fed, or injected.

Why should animal testing be banned?

Many propose to stop animal testing because it is archaic and cruel. Others consider it necessary for the advancement of medicine and the safety of product development. Regardless of whether experimenting with animals is useful in the medical field, skincare brands that test on animals are at best unnecessary and at worst deeply harmful to all involved, as effective alternatives to animal testing are readily accessible to companies. For example, reconstituted human skin cell models are proven to be more effective at predicting human reactions than animal tests.

What animals are used for testing?

Animals most commonly used for testing include guinea pigs, rabbits, non-human primates, mice, and dogs. The Animal Welfare Act (AWA), signed in 1966, remains the only regulation for the treatment of animals in research. This act provides little in the way of assurance though, as it only requires minimum standards of care and treatment for the animals covered in it’s laws, of which includes only about 5% of animals used in experimentation. The other approximately 95% of animals are products of specific breeding and are, consequently, unregulated. Each year, a little under one million animals are put o use and killed to supplement animal testing. This number is only for animals covered under the AWA, as it is not a requirement for labs to count the rest.

Why is animal testing cruel?

Animal testing is cruel because it lacks the morality and ethics involved in voluntary human testing. Animals in experiments are treated uncompromisingly, with little to no thought given to their care and well-being.