Buying cruelty free beauty products can be a confusing business. For many years I have being using certain products thinking that were cruelty free but they are in fact not. A company may state in black and white that they do not test on animals but this may mean:
a) The final product may not be tested on animals, but the ingredients within the product may be.
b) Product is not tested on animals unless required by law to do so. In reality what this means is that any product being sold in China will be tested on animals because the law requires it.
c) Product is not tested on animals but is owned by a parent company who does. A good example of this is MAC who started off as a cruelty free company, but is now owned by Estee Lauder.
d)Cruelty free.
Confusing right? To help sort all of this out I recently downloaded an app called Cruelty Cutter.
Cruelty Cutter allows you to scan an item, from a large range of products (cosmetics, household cleaners, condoms and more!) and have an immediate response about it’s animal testing status. And the app purchase helps raise funds for Beagle Freedom Project a not-for profit organization that is dedicated to freeing beagles and other animals from testing labs. It’s a win, win!
In my search for cruelty free products I came across a company called Just The Goods and I ordered the following products: vegan face wash for normal/sensitive skin, vegan cleansing toner for dry skin, vegan facial scrub for most skin types and vegan deodorant in citrus blend.
The cost of these products was very reasonable. The cleanser and the toner were $6 each, the deodorant $8.50 and the scrub, which I bought in a sample size was $3. And they are great! The cleanser is foamy, creamy and soothing. The toner is fresh but not too astringent. And the scrub, while more aggressive than I am used to, certainly made my skin very smooth. But for me the star of the show is the deodorant! I have never found any deodorant (cruelty free or not) that works as well as an anti-perspirant for me. But this one does! It’s citrusy and fresh and the essential oils last throughout the day and a tough workout!
Checkout www.justthegoods.net
Kirsten Mitchell
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Confusing? You’re not kidding! It’s very difficult knowing what products are safe or suitable. That app sounds like just the answer.
Thanks for the Just the Goods deodorant recommendation. So many of the natural deodorants just don’t work! It’s very frustrating. This one sounds ideal. Their lip balm sounds great, too!
Great post about some great tools. Thank you.
You’re welcome! And yes I need to try the lip balm!
Agreed. Like the rest of the world, I spend about half my paycheck at CVS (or similar). I really struggled for a while because there was no clear way of telling if they carried ANY hair product lines that were truly “cruelty free.”. I discovered Shea Moisture at CVS and Not Your Mother’s at Bed Bath and Beyond which both claim to be cruelty free. Is there any means of regulating these claims?
Good question. But unfortunately the answer is no. The FDA says on it’s website that companies can make any claim about their animal testing policies because there is no regulated definition of what is cruelty free.