Women's Hair Styling Products

Shop vegan and cruelty-free women's hair styling products. From anti-frizz spray to holding gel, all hair styling products in our store are 100% free of animal-derived materials, ingredients, by-products and testing.

Women's Hair Styling Products

$12
Giovanni – L.A. Hold Hair Spritz
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$19
Paul Mitchell – Extra-Body Booster
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$10
Original Sprout – Curl Calmer
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$19
Original Sprout – Miracle Detangler
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What are vegan & cruelty-free hair styling products?

The term “vegan” with regard to hair gel, mousse, anti-frizz serum and other hair styling products, refers to products that do not contain ingredients that are derived or sourced from animals or insects. The term “cruelty-free” means a product, and its ingredients, are completely free of animal testing.

Please Note: On this site, we feature hair styling 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 hair styling products?

When shopping for hair styling products and evaluating possible purchases, most people ask the same questions; “How expensive is it?”, "Does this work" and “How long will the effects of this product last?”. Who really stops to ask questions like, “Is there shark liver oil or cow pee in this? What about the insides of an animal’s stomach?”. After all, who thinks to ask these questions? Fortunately, there are people out there that do. Here’s a quick overview of common ingredients of animal origin that are found in many non-vegan hair styling products:

Biotin: This ingredient is often used as a texturizer. 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.

Cetyl Alcohol: At room temperature it’s a waxy substance that’s found in the spermaceti (head cavity) of whales, dolphins, and other cetaceans. Vegan alternatives include cetyl alcohol that’s veggie-sourced (often derived from coconut).

Gelatin: Most gelatin is made by boiling discarded animal bones, skin, and ligaments. It gives products such as hair gel a thick, smooth, gelatinous texture. Vegan alternatives include Irish moss (carageenan) or seaweed (agar, kelp, etc.).

Hyaluronic Acid: A protein that’s known to help add moisture and manageability to dull and dry hair. Unfortunately, it is usually derived from umbilical cords, and the synovial fluid surrounding the joints of animals. However, this chemical is actually produced in our own bodies, and vegetable and soy are actually great sources of it…a good diet means you don't need this added to a product!

Keratin: Found in animal hooves, feathers, horns, and hair, it promises to restore damaged hair, make hair stronger, and even keep curly or kinky hair straight. A vegan alternative to keratin, is, well, keratin! We produce keratin ourselves; it is one of the main constituents of human skin, hair, and nails. As an animal-friendly alternative, many brands use plant-based amino acids in place of keratin.

Stearic Acid: This name often refers to a fatty substance taken from the stomachs of pigs, and sometimes even euthanized pets. Stearic acid has many aliases and derivatives, including Stearamide, Stearamine, Stearates and Stearic Hydrazide, among others. Fortunately for animal lovers, stearic acid can be found in many plant and vegetable fats, including coconut.

What companies make vegan/cruelty-free hair styling products?

The following companies make hair styling products that are cruelty-free and vegan-friendly:

  • Paul Mitchell
  • Original Sprout
  • Alba Botanica
  • Giovanni Cosmetics
  • Kiss My Face

Some Good News: An ever-increasing amount of companies are responding to the increased consumer demand for cruelty-free, vegan, and chemical-free products; more companies will be listed here as we learn about them!

Why hair styling products that are vegan/cruelty-free?

It comes down to this: if you buy a vegan-friendly and cruelty-free 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 cosmetic and personal care products we use on animals. Every type of hair styling product you could want is available in a vegan and cruelty-free version.

Are vegan and cruelty-free hair styling products expensive?

In general, vegan and cruelty-free hair styling products are not any more expensive, or any less-expensive, than products that include animal sourced and derived ingredients and/or products that are tested on animals. Just like their non-vegan/non-cruelty-free counterparts, the prices for these products can vary based on differences in the quality and the availability of the ingredients used, differences in the manufacturing processes employed, different brand names behind various products, among other factors.

I’ve just turned vegan, should I get rid of any non-vegan products that I own?

Deciding on how to deal with your old non-vegan, non-cruelty-free products is certainly one of the more challenging aspects of adopting a vegan and cruelty-free lifestyle. There really is no right or wrong way to sort this out; ultimately, it comes down to what you decide you’re no longer comfortable using, what old products you can afford to replace immediately with vegan products, and what you feel can be given away in a hygienic manner. Your best options might be to give away any unused or gently used products to friends and family, or use products (if you’re comfortable doing so) until they have run out or otherwise outlived their usefulness. Simply throwing them away is generally considered wasteful, and we would recommend turning to that only as a last resort.

How do you choose which products to list?

We maintain a growing list of companies that we find, or that are suggested to us, that make various hair styling products that are rumoured to be vegan-friendly and cruelty-free. We contact these companies to find out straight from them if they abide by cruelty-free practices, such as:

  • Not testing products or ingredients on animals
  • Not paying someone else to do it for them
  • Not sourcing ingredients that are tested on animals
  • Not selling their products in countries wherein animal testing is required by law, such as China

Any vegan-friendly products made by companies that pass this cruelty-free test, and are sold on Amazon, are then listed here for your shopping convenience.

Similar product categories

If you’ve found this page on vegan and cruelty-free hair styling products helpful, check out similar product categories to learn or shop more:

For companies that make women’s vegan & cruelty-free hair styling products

If you make vegan and cruelty-free hair gel, styling cream, mousse anti-frizz serum, detangled or other hair styling products, 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 vegan/cruelty-free hair styling products was compiled from the following source(s):