Many makeup brands advertise themselves as cruelty-free. But what exactly does that mean and does it really matter if you buy products from brands that aren’t quite so up-front about whether or not their manufacturing process involves cruelty or not?
Cruelty-Free Brands
Cruelty-free makeup brands (check out the top cruelty free makeup brands in the graphic ) are brands that do not harm or kill animals through testing during the manufacturing process of their finished products or any individual ingredients within their products. That means that no part of the products sold by cruelty-free makeup brands were tested on living creatures, either by the makeup company itself or by their suppliers. And to answer the question of whether it’s actually THAT important to only use cruelty-free makeup: absolutely yes. And here’s why.
1. Cruelty Really Means Cruel
Cruelty-free is great and all, but how ‘cruel’ are the animal testing practices of companies that don’t advertise themselves as cruelty-free? Unfortunately, the definitive answer to that question is: pretty god-dang cruel. Animals that are commonly tested in cosmetics labs include small rodents such as hamsters, mice, and rabbits. However, rodents aren’t the only living things that are the victims of cosmetics testing. Dogs are also involved in the process, as well.
Take a good long look at your chihuahua Princess sleeping in her soft, fluffy bed in the corner of your living room. Would you support her being forcibly held down as someone drips poisonous chemicals into her eyes? No? Well, that practice and worse is exactly what you’re showing your support for whenever you purchase a makeup product that is not cruelty-free. Common practices in animal testing labs include countless forms of poison and torture, and no pain control is involved. What goes on behind the scenes of makeup brands that are not cruelty-free is pure torture of living beings, and that’s undeniable.
2. Cruelty-Free Is Better For You
Cruelty-free makeup is important because it doesn’t just help animals. It’s generally healthier for you to use as well. Cruelty-free makeup brands are proven to be much more likely to include safer ingredients within their products than brands that test on animals.
Cruelty-free makeup brands care about the health of all living things, and that includes you. Their products are usually formulated without parabens, synthetic fragrances, phthalates, carcinogens (ingredients that literally cause cancer), and other ingredients that can be irritating to your skin and dangerous to your health as a whole.
3. Cruel Makeup is Plain Gross
If you don’t use cruelty-free makeup, have you ever really thought about where the makeup you’re using comes from? The answer is, it comes from animals, and generally not the cutest parts of animals.
First of all, if you purchase your makeup brushes from makeup brands that test on animals and include animal materials, your brushes are most-likely hand-crafted from horse, goat, squirrel, and badger fur. You might have known this, but have you ever wondered which part of the animal cosmetic companies use to collect the fur for their brushes? Unfortunately for both the animal and the hygiene of your face, the answer to that question is almost always the tail.
Oh, yeah, and carmine? That ingredient your eyes might have skimmed past while studying the back of your lipstick tube? It’s a color additive which many cruel makeup brands add to their cosmetics. However, it is, in fact, nothing more than a crushed and blended bug. Yes, your trusty lipstick has been tricking you into rubbing mushed bugs onto your lips for years. Congratulations.
4. Cruelty-Free Makeup Is Easy To Find
Okay, so you might not be an animal person, and you might not care too much about boycotting products you like for the sake of ethical activism. But it’s not as though I’m asking you to never set foot in a Sephora again and instead import obscure cosmetics from halfway across the globe. Finding cruelty-free makeup (and cruelty-free alternatives to your favorite cruel makeup products) literally could not be easier.
As time goes on, more and more makeup companies realize the inhumane error of their ways and become cruelty-free. If you step into a Sephora, or an Ulta, or any drugstore and survey their makeup shelves, at least fifty percent of the products there are likely cruelty-free. If you can find no other significant reason to use cruelty-free makeup, just do it to prove you’re not so incredibly lazy that you can’t skim a product label before buying it and, if necessary, grab the cruelty-free alternative sitting RIGHT ON THE SHELF NEXT TO IT instead.
5. You Can Be a Part of the Solution
More than one hundred million animals are tortured and killed in cosmetics testing every. single. year. By solely using products from cruelty-free makeup brands, you are actively investing your effort and money into an amazing ethical cause.
Knowing that you are helping to change the world into a place that is kinder, more humane, and safe for all living beings can make you feel happier and more confident. Plus, it’s just plain good karma.
Cruel makeup is heinous and it’s time it was eradicated from this earth. So the next time you’re tempted to buy a makeup product from a cruel brand, remember this post, take a good long look at Princess, and let your mind dwell on the indisputable reasons why cruelty-free makeup is important.
