For some people, make up is their passion, allowing them to transform their appearance and experiment with different colours and glitter. However, there’s a dark side to the world of cosmetics that your favourite brands might be contributing to. In order to get their product, some brands test on animals to make sure a make up product won’t irritate human skin.

Cruelty-free makeup is becoming increasingly popular in society and there has been a 175% increase in vegan cosmetics between 2013 and 2018. This figure is only expected to keep rising. Thinking about switching to cruelty-free make up for yourself? Here are four key reasons why it’s an essential consideration:

Animal testing isn’t necessary

As science has advanced, alternative methods of product testing have emerged. Despite this, it’s estimated that almost 4 million animals per year are tested upon for medical and cosmetic purposes, which can cause great suffering to the animals themselves and can even result in their death.

More than 7,000 ingredients used in the production of cosmetic products are proven to be safe and don’t require any more animal testing to prove their efficacy. There are so many other effective methods of cosmetics testing, including voluntary human testing. There is even the option of using in vitro methods, where silicone replicas of human skin and tissue are artificially manufactured and then used to test new products on.

You can end up saving a lot of money

Hundreds of beauty and cosmetics brands have made the switch to cruelty-free make up testing over the years, many of which can be found in your local high street stores for a very affordable price. However, the cost savings extend beyond the cost of the products themselves, as once you become an ethical consumer, you become more mindful of the products you decide to invest in.

Gone are the days when you could just throw any cosmetic item into your shopping cart as you have to consider how ethically conscious the make up brand is. Not only is this beneficial for our bank balance, it’s also beneficial for the environment as we only purchase necessary products and end up throwing away less plastic waste.

Consumers need to hold brands accountable

Though it might be difficult to go without your holy grail concealer for a while, if your favourite make up brand hasn’t yet made the switch to being cruelty-free, then the most ethical decision you can make is to leave them.

According to a cosmetics survey, 36% of women say they prefer to purchase cruelty-free beauty products and this is something that brands will listen to. Boycotting brands can be incredibly effective and one of the only ways to force brands to enact change. Give your money over to an ethical brand until your favourite brand enacts the necessary changes to become cruelty-free. Debenhams is one such ethical brand, with quality and cruelty-free make up available to purchase.

Cruelty-free make up can be better for our health

Studies suggest that animal experimentation is a flawed process and the tested products might not even be the best for our physical health. Our skin absorbs every chemical, paraben and toxin inside cosmetic and make up products and animal testing cannot detect the longterm damage this can have on our bodies. Ethically aware vegan brands also tend to be more aware of what goes into their products and are likely to include chemicals that nourish the body instead of causing damage.

Don’t forget to check out my review of the Skin Hydrating Toner Mist from Skin, which is 100% vegan!

Images courtesy of Raphael Lovaski on Unsplash.

This is a collaborative post but this does not influence my opinion