It's Veganuary! The month we celebrate making conscious swaps to your food intake that's better for the planet and the furry friends we live alongside but we often forget the importance of going vegan in our skincare routine. The chain effect it has on our planet and again to our furry friends is huge.
There was no question when we launched My Skin Feels that we were going to be 100% vegan. You can't launch a conscious skincare brand 2023 and have it not be vegan, but equally you can't launch a vegan skincare brand and call yourself a conscious beauty brand…
To break it down, vegan skincare are defined products that do not use animal derived ingredients in their formulations.
'Conscious beauty' is defined as brands that think about every step of their product from production to packaging, customer use, to end of life ensuring the least damage to people, planet and everything on it.
Conscious beauty is not about fast consumerism, it's about doing business in a way that benefits all.
We understand why products such as 'Beef Tallow' are trending. After years of being told we need to use products with hundreds of ingredients to reap the benefits and as the unmasking of toxic beauty is coming into the limelight, consumers are going backwards and looking to our ancestors for answers. They are looking for simple skincare routines with safe ingredients that we can trust. And while we are on board with getting rid of chemicals and simplifying your routine, we’re not cavemen and we know that you can get the same if not better results using plants, sustainably.
So this Veganuary, give your bathroom an overhaul. Look out for the below ingredients hiding in your products and swap them over to plant based alternatives - we guarantee your skin and our furry pals will thank you for it later...
Ambergris
INCI Name: Ambrinol, Ambrofix or Ambergri
Used to as a base note in perfume to enhance fragrance
A very rare ingredient used in the perfume industry. It’s produced by sperm whales (who are endangered) and collected from the sea or from being washed up on beaches. Although whales are not be harmed in the harvest of this ingredient, because it is worth SO much money there are concerns that whales are being hunted and harmed so it can be sold on the black market.
Vegan Swap: Ambrette an essential oil from the hibiscus flower.
Beeswax, Honey and Royal Jelly
INCI Names: MEL, Cera Alba, Royal Jelly Extract
Used to help the skin feel moisturised, reduce fine lines, create a softening effect to cosmetics and protect the skin barrier. Honey is also naturally exfoliating.
All three are used in many products in your bathroom but they of course have some health benefits. For us, as long as honey is collected considerately and correctly it's not as big as a problem as some of the other ingredients on this list. But there are some concerns around Royal Jelly as the process to collect it disrupts the natural life cycle of bees.
Vegan Swap: Vegetable glycerine, Candelilla wax, Aloe Vera.
Carmine / Cochineal
INCI Name: CI 75470, Cochineal, Cochineal extract, E120.
Used to create a bright red pigment in makeup and other cosmetics.
This red pigment comes from crushing the female cochineal insect.
Vegan Swap: Natural fruit and vegetable dyes.
Castoreum
INCI Name: 8023-83-4.
Used in perfumery to enhance scent and create a very unique note. It has previously been used in Chanel, Givenchy and Guerlain fragrances.
A scent produced by beavers (supposed to smell like vanilla). Most beavers were / are killed in order to harvest the substance. Banned from use in the UK but in the USA you can still find products with this ingredient.
Vegan Swap: Vanilla extract.
Collagen
INCI Name: Collagen, Hydrolyzed Collagen, Lauryldimmonium Hydroxypropyl Hydrolyzed Collagen, Myristoyl Hydrolyzed Collagen:
Used in skincare to enhance regenerating, firming and moisturising properties of products.
Collagen is a protein found in humans and animals. The most commonly used collagen comes from bovine and fish and is both eaten internally and used externally in skincare to increase hydration and firm the skin although the results are questionable. Collagen is often the by-product of the meat and fish industry so from a sustainability perspective, it’s a great way to utilize all the waste but of course it comes with the cost of the life of the animal.
Vegan Swap: Plant sourced collagen.
Guanine
INCI NAME: CI 75170
Used as a coloring to give a pearly, iridescent effect on the skin or hair.
Guanine is derived from fish scales. It’s used to give a pearlescent effect to products and can be found in makeup , conditioners and other bath products.
Vegan Swap: Synthetic Pearl.
Gelatine
INCI name: gelatin
Used to provide deep hydration and revitalize the skin
The same gelatin you find in jelly is also found in your skincare. It’s used to provide hydration and is made by boiling up animal bones, tendons and ligaments in water. It's usually a by-product of the meat industry.
Vegan Swap: Carrageenan, Locust Bean Gum, Agar-Agar.
Lanolin
INCI Name: lanolin
Used to give moisture to skin and high shine to lipstick and lipgloss.
Lanolin is a naturally occurring fat in sheep’s wool. It would seem that it could be sourced ethically from the wool industry, but due to the high demand of lanolin in beauty products there has been an increase in the mass production of wool. This has horrible side effects for sheep where they are slaughtered and live in very stressful conditions, just so we can have a shiny lipgloss…
Vegan Swap: Shea Butter, Orange Wax, Castor Oil.
Shellac
INCI Name: Shellac
Used in nail varnish, mascara and hairspray to add shine.
Shellac as in the nails is a resin secreted by beetles mostly collected in India and Thailand even though it’s collected from trees upon harvesting it there is unavoidable harm to the insects and their habitats.
Vegan Swap: Dammar resin or synthetic versions now found in a lot of nail products.
Squalene
INCI Name: Squalene
Used to enhance skin reduce wrinkles, fine lines and repair the skin barrier. Often found in ‘oil free’ products.
A natural oil found in the livers of deep sea sharks. Sharks are caught and killed to extract this ingredient massively effecting their population and causing unrepairable damaging to ecosystems. Big brands such as Unilever and L’Oreal only agreed to stop using this ingreident in 2008, not that long ago, and only because of customer awareness!
Vegan Swap: Squalane a vegan version made from olives.
Tallow
INCI Name: tallow
Used to soothe dry skin and rashes
Tallow is trending because of its many benefits to skin as a counter to all the chemicals we have been sold over the last decade. Found mainly in soap, lipstick and moisturiser, Tallow is the processed fat from cows and sheep. Like collagen it's a by-product of the meat industry so there's a sustainable element to obtaining this ingredient, but killing an animal to soothe your dry skin when there are many other alternatives seems very drastic.
Vegan Swap: Cold-pressed oils such as Pumpkin and Olive or Shea Butter.
We hope this handy guide has given you a list of things to look out for in your bathroom. My Skin Feels has always been and will always be vegan. We believe in using the most sustainable, ethical ingredients and for us that’s plants and fermented food. If you have a vegan alternative that’s not harming people, the planet and our furry friends why wouldn’t you use it?! Especially when it’s doing such amazing things for eczema-prone skin. We wouldn’t have it any other way.
You can discover our vegan skincare here…