Animal testing isn’t the only thing people who buy makeup need to be aware of during their hunts for the perfect products.
Yes, unfortunately, humans are great at hiding sketchy things, which means there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to searching for vegan beauty products.
Fortunately, we’re living in the future, and there are tons of vegan make-up brands and vegan lines of products out there.
But that doesn’t exactly answer the question: what makes ‘regular’ make-up non-vegan?
Let’s find out!
Below are some of the most commonly found non-vegan ingredients in make-up products.
1. Guanine
I’m starting with guanine because I think it’s important to start by dispelling myths.
For most of my time in high school, any time a girl would pull out a tube of mascara, someone would mention the fun fact, “you know that has bat poop in it?” and then everyone would laugh.
But, thankfully, that’s not true.
Those dumb little idiots were mixing up their words: Guano is the word for bat poop, not guanine.
Mascara does not have bat poop in it – but it does have fish scales!
Guanine is a chemical compound that’s found in animals. It’s one of the building blocks of our DNA. Cosmetic companies harvest the guanine used in mascara from fish scales.
But why?
Well, guanine is apparently the reason your mascara has that ‘irresistible iridescent shimmer’ and it can also sometimes be used as a colourant.
It can also be found in eye shadow, bronzer, highlighter, nail polish and shampoo.
So, rest assured: There’s no bat poop. Just fish scales!
Cause that’s better.
(And if you’re new here: yes, that was sarcasm)
2. Beeswax
As I explained in the Non-Vegan Non-Food Ingredient article, beeswax is essentially, bee poop. (Were you worried poop wasn’t going to make it onto this list?)
It would probably be faster to list products that don’t have beeswax, but luckily, this article is just about make-up! Some make-up products that contain beeswax are:
- Eye Shadow
- Eye Liner
- Foundation
- Blush
- Lip Balm/Gloss
- Lipstick
Luckily, beeswax doesn’t usually hide under a different name, so it’s pretty easy to spot in a product’s ingredient’s list.
There are even some ‘natural’ make-up companies that boast about using beeswax in their products!
3. Lanolin
Yes, unfortunately, this sheep’s wool extracted animal-fat is often found in make-up, too.
On the plus side, it’s most commonly found in lip-only products, (lip balms, lip glosses and lipsticks), so it shouldn’t be quite as big of a headache to avoid as some of these other ingredients.
4. Shellac
Yep, this one, too.
If you do enough research, you’re bound to see some of the same non-vegan ingredients crop up across multiple industries.
The good news is, you may already be on the look-out for this ingredient in other products, so it might make it easier to spot in your make-ups.
And in case this is the first article you’ve seen me mention it,shellac is a resin secreted by the female lac bug, which is why it’s not considered vegan. It’s used to give products an ‘irresistible shine’.
5. Squalene
Hold on, everybody, this is a bit of a weird one.
Squalene is extracted from the liver of sharks.
No, I’m not joking.
Apparently, it’s thought to enhance skin’s elasticity, improve moisture retention and ‘maintain skins balance and retention’. (Whatever the hell that means)
Unsurprisingly, this means squalene is most often found in anti-aging products, lip balms and moisturizers.
6. Collagen
Speaking of anti-aging products, collagen is another ingredient that is commonly used. It’s most commonly derived from cow’s tissues, bones, skin and/or ligaments.
It can also be found in lip-plumping products.
7. Animal Hair
Animal hairs are more commonly found in the make-up brushes than the actual products themselves, but I think they still deserve to be mentioned!
Fox, sable, horse, goat, mink and even squirrel are just some of the animals companies take hairs from to make their brushes. Animal hair is even sometimes been found in brushes that are listed as cruelty-free!
Also, apparently, sometimes false lashes could have mink hairs in them.
8. Carmine
Yes, I decided to end the article on another one of our old friends!
Speaking strictly in terms of make-up products, carmine is usually used simply as a red colourant, so it’s most commonly found in things like lipsticks, blushes, eye shadows and nail polish.
Why humans decided to put crushed beetles in so many products, I’ll never know.
But as I said above, at least you should be well-versed in spotting this ingredient on labels!
Like the article? Check out more vegan tips here!