Have you ever noticed that many of your favorite skincare products are made with animal byproducts? If that’s not quite your cup of tea, you can thankfully find vegan products to cover everything from brightening to exfoliating and firming. If you’re not sold on vegan formulas alone, here are five great reasons to switch to vegan skincare today.
1. Vegan Skincare Is Good For Sensitive Skin
If you struggle with sensitive skin, you’ve probably tried a wide variety of tactics to control the reactions and irritations that come with more sensitive skin. If your skin reacts no matter what eye cream, toner, or face mask you try, switching to vegan skincare products might be a great option for you.
Vegan skincare products generally have more focused, intentional ingredient lists, which means there are typically fewer ingredients to cause irritation.
For instance, rather than using Synthetic Retinol, which is often made with animal byproducts and is known to irritate sensitive skin, you can use our Phyto-Retinol Vitamin A Booster.
Retinol is the most sought-after anti-aging ingredient, but the Synthetic Retinol used in most conventional treatments is known to disrupt your microbiome, which can lead to redness, dry skin, irritation, and peeling.
However, our Phyto-Retinol Booster harnesses the innate intelligence of your skin to deliver powerful anti-aging benefits, without the sensitizing side effects that can result from synthetic retinoids.
This plant-based Retinol booster fights signs of aging by delivering Provitamin A Carotenoids that your skin transforms into its own potent retinoic acid, which is one of the most biocompatible kinds of retinoic acids.
Our Phyto-Retinol can help your skin naturally fight signs of aging including wrinkles, dark spots, and uneven skin tone, delivering your most youthful-looking glow.
2. Vegan Skincare Aligns With Your Values
Many people who follow vegan diets are also passionate about reducing their carbon footprints and doing their best to help the planet. And of course, a vegan lifestyle is all about reducing animal cruelty as well.
Many skincare products can be formulated with all kinds of animal byproduct ingredients, which typically aren’t sourced with sustainability in mind. Even skincare companies that tout “all-natural” products can sometimes contribute directly to deforestation, animal abuse, and climate change.
If following vegan values is important to you, then switching to vegan beauty products and natural skincare is an important step to take in making sure that your lifestyle is perfectly aligned with your values.
We like to make it easy — every single True Botanicals formula is PETA and Leaping Bunny Certified.
For example, our Renew Nourishing Cleanser is formulated with a non-GMO, plant-derived Glycerin. It’s safe for you and the planet, whereas much of the Glycerin on the market comes from the process of distilling petroleum, which leads to propylene glycol, which poses environmental risks. It can also harm your skin barrier, cause irritation, and overall damage your complexion over time.
In place of all that, our Renew Nourishing Cleanser is made with nourishing vegan ingredients like nutrient-rich Green Tea and White Tea Extract, soothing Aloe Vera, and hydrating Green Tea Seed Oil to reveal glowing, youthful-looking skin.
This hypoallergenic facial cleanser gently removes dirt and impurities without stripping your skin by virtue of an abundance of nourishing antioxidants and Aloe Vera – your skin will feel soft, clean, refreshed!
3. Vegan Skincare Is More Environmentally Friendly
Be sure you’re not falling victim to greenwashing when you’re considering new beauty products. Even if the advertisement looks eco-conscious and the beauty brand offers bright green and white packaging that reminds you of a contemporary Mother Earth, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the product is actually natural, cruelty-free, or environmentally friendly.
Companies that produce vegan products are more likely to prioritize sustainability. So if you’re looking to reduce your plastic usage or cut back on unnecessary packaging of any kind, going vegan is an easy and effective way to decrease the likelihood that your skincare routine is harming the environment.
Our ingredients are always sustainable and biocompatible so they are safe for your skin and the environment.
One of our favorite examples of this? Our Ginger Turmeric Cleansing Balm — the product of countless formula iterations, obsessive testing and re-testing, refusing to compromise, and diligently sourcing ingredients of unmatched efficacy.
Not that skincare is a competition, but if it was, this best-selling cleanser would be the winner. With Yucca Extract to cleanse and nourish the skin, Turmeric, Ginger Root, and Cucumber Seed Oil to calm and brighten, and Lactic and Azelaic Acid to exfoliate and protect, this formulation does it all.
In addition to being a vegan makeup remover that can also remove daily SPF sunscreen lotion, this cleanser is also formulated without harsh surfactants and sulfates, so it’s the best vegan face wash for sensitive skin. Other cleansers can be made with harsh surfactants and toxic chemicals that harm aquatic life.
4. Vegan Skincare Is Less Likely To Contain Questionable Ingredients
If you’ve flirted with “natural” or “organic” skincare in the past, you may have been disappointed to find out later that these claims weren’t totally accurate. Skincare products such as body wash and face oil that are labeled “natural” don’t actually have to adhere to any specific FDA regulation, and may even include some by-products you don’t want anywhere near your skin.
Some potentially non-vegan ingredients to look out for include Glycerine, Squalane, Guanine, Collagen, Retinol, Hyaluronic Acid, Lecithin, Lanolin, and Beeswax. Some of these products can be sourced from plants (such as our vegan Hyaluronic Acid and Squalane), but oftentimes the best way to know whether or not these ingredients are vegan is to contact the company or dig around their site.
Many non-vegan breakout-busting products are formulated with Synthetic Retinoids to help blemish-prone skin. Beyond being known irritants, Synthetic Retinoids can actually lead to birth defects and are not recommended for women who are pregnant or nursing. They can also majorly disrupt the skin barrier.
Fortunately, when using high-quality vegan skincare products like the ones here at True Botanicals, you know your daily skincare products are formulated with clean, natural ingredients that will protect your skin barrier, not destroy it.
Our Pure Radiance Oils replace skin barrier disrupting ingredients with high-quality, vegan, and natural ingredients which have smaller molecules than other facial oils and work better with your skin’s natural microbiome.
For example, our Clear Pure Radiance Oil contains legendary, antioxidant-rich Helichrysum helps to soothe skin that has suffered from blemishes, fight signs of aging, and restore natural glow. Meanwhile, Hemp, Pumpkin and Jojoba Seed Oils balance sebum on the skin, while Astaxanthin supports the skin barrier with Omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants.
As an added bonus, our Sandalwood Oil is sourced from sustainably and ethically harvested trees. In fact, our sandalwood essential oil provider plants TEN trees for every one sandalwood tree that is uprooted. Now that’s sustainable!
5. Vegan Skincare Is Just as Good (If Not Better)
With ample evidence that many plant extracts are both vegan and super beneficial for your skin, going green doesn’t mean you have to miss out on quality face and body care. In fact, some naturally sourced ingredients can actually have better effects on your skin. This is because they come in forms that your skin knows how to use, which reduces the likelihood of irritation.
One option for getting your skin the nutrients it needs while sticking with vegan skincare brands is to use a vegan serum. Our Glowy Super Duo is the perfect combination of our Vitamin C Booster — which can also be mixed in with your favorite moisturizing cream — and our Chebula Active Serum, for natural and cruelty-free skincare.
Our Vitamin C Booster combines Vitamin C and Ferulic Acid to support surface skin cell turnover and protect overall skin integrity to reveal even-toned, smoother, and brighter looking skin. Since Vitamin C can be unstable when exposed to liquid, this Booster comes in a powdered form for maximum potency.
Meanwhile, our Chebula Active Serum makes use of Chebula’s incredible antioxidant power, as well as the plant-based goodness of Green Tea Extract, Aloe Vera, and hydrating Hyaluronic Acid. It’s free of any potential toxins or unnecessary added scents that can often mask undesirable ingredients.
In Conclusion
There are many reasons to choose vegan skincare products, but ultimately it comes down to what is important to you.
Vegan products are generally better for sensitive skin, more environmentally friendly than non-vegan competitors, and contain fewer questionable ingredients.
If you don’t know where to start, take our skincare quiz to find out which vegan products are best for you!
Sources:
“Organic” Cosmetics | Food and Drug Administration
Main Benefits and Applicability of Plant Extracts in Skin Care Products | ResearchGate
10 Common Cosmetic Ingredients That Are Derived From Animal Products | One Green Planet