Women's Personal Care
Shop vegan and cruelty-free women's personal care products. From fragrances to body wash, all products in our store are 100% free of animal-derived materials, ingredients, by-products and testing.
Women's Hair Care
Women's Nails
Women's Skin Care
What are vegan & cruelty-free personal care products?
The term “vegan”, with regard to women’s personal care products, refers to products that don’t contain ingredients that are derived or sourced from animals or insects, whereas the term “cruelty-free” refers to products that are free animal testing, including the individual ingredients they’re composed of.
On this site, we feature women’s personal care products that are both vegan and cruelty-free; they contain no animal or insect ingredients, and are not tested on animals.
What animal ingredients are typically found in personal care products?
Due to ambiguous labelling, scientific names for ingredients, and insufficient regulations surrounding the labelling of personal care products, it’s not always easy to tell what animal-derived ingredients might be lurking in what you're looking to buy.
We’ve tried to make this a little easier by putting together a quick overview of common animal-derived and sourced ingredients that are found in many non-vegan shampoos, conditioners, deodorants, soaps and other personal care and hygienic products, as well as some effective plant-based alternatives to these ingredients:
- Squalene: An oil that’s typically sourced from shark liver. Vegan alternatives include vegetable oils such as olive, wheat germ or rice bran oils.
- Vitamin A: Often comes from fish liver oil, shark liver oil, egg yolk or butter. Vegan sources of Vitamin A include lemon grass and wheat germ oil, carrots, other vegetables, and synthetically produced Vitamin A.
- Biotin: Biotin is found in all living cells, and in large quantities in milk and yeast. Fortunately, there are many plant-based sources of this B vitamin as well, including carrots, onions, leafy greens, cabbage, and fresh berries, among others.
- Cetyl Alcohol: A waxy substance that’s found in the spermaceti (head cavity) of whales, dolphins, and other cetaceans. Fortunately for those opposed to using by-products from these lovely creatures, cetyl alcohol can also be derived from plant-based sources, such as coconut.
- Gelatin: Basically rendered animal fat and other tissues, gelatin gives products, such as hair gel, a thick and smooth texture. Vegan alternatives to gelatin include Irish moss (carageenan) and seaweed (agar, kelp, etc.).
- Hyaluronic Acid: A protein that attracts and retains water that acts as a moisturizer and lubricant in personal care products that's typically taken from rooster combs. Fortunately, there are some animal-friendly sources of hyaluronic acid; it can be produced synthetically, and many foods, such as vegetables and soy, help us produce it naturally in our own bodies!
- Keratin: Found in animal hooves, feathers, horns, and hair, it's supposed to restore damaged hair, make hair stronger, and even make curly or kinky hair straight. A vegan alternative to keratin, is, well, keratin! We produce keratin ourselves; it's one of the main constituents of human skin, hair, and nails. As another animal-friendly alternative, many brands use plant-based amino acids in place of keratin.
- Stearic Acid: Often taken from the stomachs of pigs, and sometimes even euthanized pets. Stearic acid has many aliases and derivatives, including Stearamide, Stearamine, Stearates, Stearic Hydrazide, among others. Fortunately for animal lovers, and for the animals themselves, stearic acid can be found in many plant and vegetable fats, including coconut.
- Lanolin: A product of the oil glands of sheep, extracted from their wool. Used as an emollient in many skin and hair care products. Vegan and animal-friendly alternatives include plant and vegetable oils.
- Silk Protein: Made by silkworms, silk protein is said to improve hair’s elasticity, and resiliency. Vegan alternatives include plant-based proteins such as corn, rice, soy and wheat.
What companies make animal-friendly personal care products for women?
The following companies make some variety of personal care products that are vegan & cruelty-free:
- a-England
- Aēsop
- AILA Cosmetics
- ATTITUDE
- Auromère
- Axiology
- Bare Bones Body Care
- Beauty Without Cruelty (BWC)
- Bedrock & Bloom
- Blissoma
- Booda Organics
- Bro Brick (has a product line for ladies)
- Certain Dri
- Commodity
- Crazy Rumors
- Crystal Body Deodorant
- D.S. & Durga
- Deco Miami
- Developlus (Satin; Splat)
- DeVita
- DEMES
- Derma E
- DI-VER-GENT (by I Am Selfcare)
- Dr. Dennis Gross
- e.l.f. Cosmetics
- Earthly Body
- Ellovi
- Fairypants
- Forager Botanicals
- good DYE young
- Green Hare Mud
- Hello Products
- Hempz
- Henna Color Lab
- Herbivore Botanicals
- Honore de Pres
- Hurraw!
- Joshik Polish
…and many more to come! An ever-increasing amount of companies are starting to respond to the increased consumer demand for cruelty-free, vegan, and chemical-free shampoos, conditioners, hair colouring and styling products; more companies will be listed here as we find and contact them.
Why should I buy vegan/cruelty-free personal care products?
Voting with your dollars is one of the most unassuming, but one of the most effective, forms of animal welfare activism. When you buy a vegan-friendly and cruelty-free shampoo, hair dye, nail polish, toothpaste or any other personal care or hygienic product, you’re buying an animal-friendly product. Doing so helps to put an end to the perpetual cycle of paying companies to test the products that we use, on animals. Aside from that, some people just don’t want crushed up beetles in their red lipstick.
But wouldn’t these animal by-products just be going to waste anyways?
Sadly enough, in many cases animals are killed specifically for their by-products. For example, a United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization report lists more than 50 shark species are fished for their oil, several of which are currently listed on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List.
Are vegan and cruelty-free personal care products expensive?
In general, vegan and cruelty-free soap, nail polish, fragrances, hair styling products, deodorants and moisturizers are not any more expensive, or any less-expensive, than products that contain animal/insect derived ingredients, or that have been tested on animals. Just like their non-vegan counterparts, their prices can vary based on numerous factors, such as quality and availability of ingredients, manufacturing methods, and others.
How do you choose which products to list in your store?
We maintain a growing list of companies that make women’s personal care and related products that are rumoured to be vegan-friendly and cruelty-free. We contact all of these companies to find out straight from them if they abide by specific cruelty-free practices, including:
- Not testing their final products or ingredients on animals
- Not paying someone else to test ingredients or final products on animals for them
- Not using ingredients that are tested on animals
- Not selling their products in countries wherein animal testing is required by law, such as mainland China
Products made by companies that abide by these guidelines, exclude animal and insect-derived ingredients, and are sold on Amazon, are listed here for your shopping convenience.
Similar product categories
If you’ve found this page on women’s vegan personal care products helpful, check out similar product categories to learn or shop more:
For companies that make vegan & cruelty-free women’s personal care products
If you make vegan and cruelty-free perfume, soap, shaving cream, lip balm, or any other personal care or hygienic product for that matter, we’d love to feature you and your products on the “Brands We Love” section of our site! Contact us at - info(at)getitvegan(dot)com - to get started!
Sources
Some of the information for this mini guide on women’s vegan personal care products was gathered from the following sources:
- Articles: “Is My Shampoo Vegan? A Guide to Vegan Hair Products.” (June. 11, 2013). The Vegan Woman. Retrieved April 22, 2017. http://www.theveganwoman.com/is-my-shampoo-vegan-a-guide-to-vegan-hair-products/
- Shark Feed: “There’s Shark in Your Lipstick: Everything You Need to Know about Shark Liver Oil.” Danny Clemens (July 3, 2015). Disocvery. Retrieved April 21, 2017. http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/shark-week/shark-feed/theres-shark-in-your-lipstick-everything-you-need-to-know-about-shark-liver-oil/
- Animal Writes: “Animal Rendering Products In More Places Than You Think.” Renea Mohammed (n.d.). Resne.com via The Vancouver Humane Society Newsletter. Retrieved April 22, 2017. http://www.rense.com/general39/animal.htm
- Articles: “All About Different Types of Proteins in Hair Products.” Nikisha Brunson (March, 2015)). Urban Bush Babes website. Retrieved June 6, 2017. http://urbanbushbabes.com/all-about-different-types-of-proteins/
- “Animal Ingredients.” (n.d.). Choose Cruelty Free Official website. Retrieved June 6, 2017. http://www.choosecrueltyfree.org.au/animal-ingredients/
- Articles: “Vegetarian Alternatives To Collagen Supplements.” (July. 30, 2016). WayfaringRachel.com. Retrieved April 22, 2017. http://wayfaringrachel.com/vegetarian-collagen/
- Health: “What animal products are used in moisturizers?” Caitlin Uttley (August 20,2009). HowStuffWorks.com. Retrieved April 22, 2017. http://health.howstuffworks.com/skin-care/moisturizing/products/what-animal-products-are-used-in-moisturizers.htm