Now that you’ve decided to adopt the vegan lifestyle, you might not be sure about how to get started with your beauty routine. It might seem overwhelming at first to figure out how to transition your beauty regimen to vegan makeup and other vegan skincare products. Don’t worry: We’ll help break it down for you. Here are some simple and easy tips on transitioning your beauty routine to vegan beauty.
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1. Understanding Vegan Cosmetics and the Vegan Lifestyle
According to the Vegan Society, vegans do more than just cut out meat and eat a plant-based diet. Veganism is a lifestyle and means avoiding exploiting animals for any purpose, as far as practicable. In addition to considering foods to eat or not eat as part of the vegan lifestyle, vegans will also make choices based on their everyday routines, including clothing and footwear, cleaning products, medicine, entertainment, and their beauty and skincare routine.
2. Benefits of Switching to a Vegan Beauty Routine
Switching to a vegan beauty routine means stopping using any products from skincare to haircare that exploit animals. Switch to vegan and clean beauty products instead and start making that transition sooner rather than later.
3. Research, Research, and…Research Even More
Not all brands that are cruelty-free are vegan. It’s an important distinction to note that true vegan beauty brands do not exploit animals. Do your research by visiting the brand’s website for additional information. Seek out recommendations from blogs, beauty influencers, and magazine articles. Speak with friends in the vegan community who can help guide you through any questions you may have or recommendations for vegan beauty products.
4. Take a Look at Ingredients
Beware ingredients that may look harmless at a quick glance but are actually ingredients derived from animals. Unless a beauty product with collagen states that it’s plant-based, it comes from the bones, skin, and connective tissue of animals. Lanolin comes from the oil extracted from sheep. Glycerol, also known as glycerine, comes from animal fat. Squalene comes from shark livers.
5. Start Out Slow
You may not be able to replace all of your beauty products for vegan ones overnight. That’s okay. Be patient with yourself. If need be, start with replacing one product at a time until your entire beauty routine is vegan. Remember that just because a beauty product is vegan doesn’t mean it will bode well for your skin or hair type. You may have to play around with different products until you find what’s right for you.
6. Sustainability Plays a Part
Disposing of all of your non-vegan beauty products in one night is actually more wasteful than using them up and slowly getting rid of them. Use up any existing products because sustainability ties in with the vegan lifestyle and your eventual daily vegan beauty routine (because animals need a healthy environment to survive!). Opt for vegan brands that also have a sustainability initiative like zero waste packaging or a carbon offset program.
7. Use Brands You Love and Support
It can be tempting to buy any and every vegan beauty product that’s out there. After all, it’s only getting trendier to shop vegan. However, you’ll want to make sure you’re not only buying from brands you love and support but also ones that are consistently putting out good products that are suitable for your unique skin. If you have certain concerns to consider, like acne-prone skin, you’ll want to use a vegan brand that works for your needs.
8. Use Vegan Makeup Products
One of the first things you can take a look at for your beauty routine is switching to vegan makeup products. As more people buy vegan makeup products, more brands will be less incentivized to do animal testing. Not all cruelty-free beauty products are vegan, but all vegan makeup products are cruelty-free because they have to be free from animal exploitation to be considered vegan.
9. Use Vegan Skincare Products
Are you still using any skincare products that are exploiting animals? Take a look at what’s in your bathroom sink and in the shower. You may be surprised at what’s in there. In that case, you’ll want to switch to vegan skincare products. If you have sensitive skin, consider using vegan cosmetics. They’re often made from natural ingredients that are rich in vitamins such as chamomile, seaweed, aloe vera, and essential oils.
10. Use Vegan-Friendly Products for Your Time of the Month
We can’t stress enough that being a vegan is about more than cutting meat out of your diet. It’s also about rejecting all forms of animal exploitation. That includes the products you use for your time of the month. Switch your period products to tampons, menstrual cups, and sanitary pads that are vegan-friendly.
11. Don’t Use Fake Lashes Made with Fur
Sure, false lashes will make you look oh-so-glam. However, did you know that so many eyelash brands use fur? They’re typically made from minks that are raised and confined in small, inhumane spaces. Don’t use fake lashes that are made with mink fur. Opt for cruelty-free and vegan fake lashes instead.