Cruelty-free Skincare – Why we should all make the switch

Cruelty-free skincare (and all products, actually) is on the rise globally, and for very good reason!  Today’s consumers are making more informed choices, voting with their hard-earned cash on issues that they feel strongly about.

Here’s a fact that is both interesting and sad: every year, more than 100 million animals are tortured and killed in experiments in the United States alone. Animal testing can include things like burning the animals’ skin, giving them drugs, poisoning them, letting them breathe in toxic substances, and doing many other things that will scar them, give them diseases, or, in the worst case, kill them. For no other reason than to make sure that drugs and products are safe for people.

Several studies have shown that testing on animals is not good science and does not always work. So, companies that still test their products on animals are being cruel on purpose, which is not something anyone should support. Switching to skin care products that don’t test on animals is one of the best ways to show you don’t agree with animal testing. This article will give you ten reasons why you should get rid of your harsh skin care products and switch to ones that are better for animals.

1. Cruelty-free Skincare Products are Better for You

Products that aren’t tested on animals tend to be healthier and less harmful to your skin. This is because most traditional skin care products are full of harsh chemicals and toxins, many of which you may not even know where they come from. Your skin is the largest organ in your body, so if a product hurts your skin, you can be sure it will hurt your health as a whole. By switching to vegan and cruelty-free products, you’re choosing skincare products with all-natural ingredients that are less likely to have bad side effects and hurt you.

2. It is cruel to test on animals

Testing skincare products on animals is cruel, and if you don’t have any other reason to ditch cruel skincare brands, it should be because you don’t want to hurt animals. In addition to being tortured and killed at the end, these animals are kept in horrible conditions and small cages. There is no such thing as testing animals without causing them pain, so don’t fall for this trick. All through their lives, these animals are put through a lot of stress and trauma, and no animal should have to go through that.

3. There’s no need to test on animals

As already mentioned, there is no need to test on animals. Studies have shown that the results of testing on animals aren’t always clear. This means that even if some ingredients and products pass the tests on animals, that doesn’t mean they are safe for humans to use. There are also better alternatives to testing on animals, such as in-vitro testing, which is safer and gives more accurate results.

As mentioned in this article on Pubmed, results from animal testing can be questionable:

“…and that greater heed is paid to the warning of Russell and Burch about the high fidelity fallacy and the questionable relevance of data provided by animal models for human hazard and risk assessment.”

Many top skin care brands still test on animals because it is “cheap,” even though it is very dangerous. So, basically, companies that still test on animals do so because they want to, not because they have to.  Personally I feel this makes them unethical and would recommend against supporting such companies.

4. Safe Cosmetic Ingredients already Exist

The idea behind animal testing is that there are chemicals in skincare products that need to be tested to make sure they are safe for humans before they can be sold. Now, this would make sense if not all ingredients were safe and had to be tested because of that. But companies can make their products with thousands of natural and organic ingredients that have been shown to be safe and free of toxins. But most companies would rather use chemicals and ingredients that could be harmful, often to make more money. So, when you use skin care products that aren’t made without hurting animals, you might be helping these brands make more money at the expense of your own health.

5. Change Begins with You

When you buy skincare products that aren’t made without hurting animals, you send a message to the market that you don’t care about animal rights and don’t care about what’s in the products you buy. You can help companies that don’t test on animals by only buying from them. Companies that still test on animals should not get your money. It might not seem like much to you, but you could make a huge difference in the lives of thousands of animals in labs.

6. Show Your Support to Companies with Aligned Ethics

If you are worried about not being able to use your “favourite” products because they are not cruelty-free, the good news is that there are thousands of other companies with better cruelty-free skincare products that your skin will love. You won’t be limited if you switch to vegan and cruelty-free products. This is true for both small, independent skincare companies and big, well-known brands. You are only giving yourself better options from brands that have earned the cruelty-free seal.

7. Animal testing is illegal in Some Countries

The government of countries like Norway, South Korea, Switzerland, New Zealand and the European Union all recognize the dangers of animal testing and have banned the practice in their various countries. Most countries around the world have laws against testing on animals, which should tell you how wrong and dangerous it is. You can do the same and get rid of any skin care products that aren’t cruelty-free from your home.

8. Cruelty-free Products Promote a Greener Earth

There are a lot of cruelty-free brands that make products with natural ingredients and no chemicals that could be dangerous. Plant-based ingredients in skin care products have been shown to be safe, and because they are natural, they are easier for your skin to take in. Labs that test on animals make a lot of waste, which can be bad for the environment and even be dangerous. Brands that are vegan and don’t test on animals tend to use more natural ingredients and don’t test on animals. So, if you switched to products that don’t hurt animals, you’d save your skin and the environment.

9. Cruelty-free Skincare Products are more Economical

Most of the time, organic and cruelty-free skin care products aren’t as expensive as products that use chemicals and aren’t cruelty-free. For example, brands of makeup like MAC, Estée Lauder, and Clinique still test on animals, and buying these brands isn’t cheap. Check the labels for the cruelty-free symbols. If there is one, you can be sure that the company is proud of the way it manufactures its products and is doing things the right way. And if you’re on a tight budget, switching to cruelty-free skincare products might even save you money.

10. You Will Feel Better

How would you feel if you knew that the beauty products you used hurt and killed millions of innocent animals? If you only buy things that don’t hurt animals, you can have beautiful skin and feel good about it. Whether you’re spending a dollar or a million, you’ll feel a lot better about yourself at the end of the day if you know that everything you bought helped someone else.

Conclusion

Here’s the deal: if a skincare brand doesn’t care about the health and happiness of innocent animals, they probably don’t care much about your skin either. They want your money, and every time you buy something from them, you support their values, whether you agree with them or not. With a little bit of research, we can get rid of all cruelty-based brands from our homes for good.

Ready to switch to cruelty-free skincare products? You’ll be pleased to know that ALL Cherish Beauty products are strictly cruelty-free and Vegan friendly! Check out our range of organic and cruelty-free Skincare, Body Care and Baby Care HERE.