Cruelty Free Cosmetics: Credible or Scams?

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news… But EVERY ingredient of EVERY PRODUCT in the entire beauty industry has been tested on animals by someone at some time.  Otherwise, the ingredient in question would not be allowed to be used in the personal care industry. These guidelines were made by the F.D.A. (Food and Drug Administration) who oversee the cosmetic industry in the USA and many countries follow their lead. Some cosmetic companies claim they do not do animal testing, but the facts are that they do not do it in their facility, but they pay outside sources to do it.

While it is true that some countries no longer allow animal testing, they ALL started out doing it. Therefore, every ingredient in every product you have ever used in your lifetime, such as soap, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, deodorant, body lotion, SPF, and every single item within the skin care world or makeup/cosmetics from every single brand you could name, including those on the “Cruelty Free” lists has been tested on animals at some point.

Society has always assumed that the FDA may test products and their effectiveness.  However, that is absolutely not the case.  Actual products are not being tested, it is the actual individual new ingredients. The reasoning is that all new ingredients must be tested to be proved safe for humans. However, once a brand gets the approval to utilize a new ingredient that has been deemed safe, then ANY cosmetic company can add that ingredient to their brand and products.  That part is just business, but the problem I have with it is that all the other brands now profiting from the new animal tested ingredient still claim that they don’t do animal testing. This is nothing more than a technicality.  These brands are simply lying to society and telling people what they want to hear in the name of profit.

I’m not in favor of animal testing either. But I actually have more respect for the companies that are honest about their animal testing versus those that are using animal tested ingredients and lying about being cruelty-free.  These companies pretend they are against animal testing, point the finger at the companies that put the time, money and resources to make sure their brand is cutting edge, new and innovative, yet the unethical ones are making billions of dollars.  In reality, the majority of cosmetic companies just wait for the larger companies to test the new ingredients and get them approved and then they use those very same ingredients.  Please don’t be a sheep and fall for the false claims of being cruelty-free. The entire concept of cruelty-free is nothing but a shrewd marketing gimmick created to take advantage of unsuspecting consumers.  Sadly, beauty companies have been getting away with this for decades because the majority of society is too naive and doesn’t question anything they are told.

Only a few countries have completely stopped animal testing for the cosmetics industry.  As of now, the countries that have banned cosmetic animal testing are Europe, Norway, Brazil, Turkey, Israel, New Zealand, the UK, and India.  The countries of South Korea, USA and Canada are working on banning cosmetic animal testing but are currently tied up in legislation.  I sincerely hope that most countries ban animal testing in my lifetime.  But regardless of when or if it happens, it will be a huge victory.  If you found this interesting, you may also like my article I wrote on natural versus synthetic makeup brushes.

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