Vegan cosmetics: what "vegan" really means – and what it doesn't
Vegan cosmetics are no longer a niche topic: "vegan" now appears on shower gel, hand cream and facial care in almost every drugstore. But what is behind the term? Is vegan the same as cruelty-free? Is vegan skincare automatically natural or better tolerated? And how do you recognise it if there is no seal on the pack? In this guide to the basics, we clarify the terms, show typical animal-derived ingredients with their INCI names, explain the tricky group of ingredients with a dual origin and make everything tangible with real products from our range.
Contents11
- What does "vegan" mean for cosmetics?
- Typical animal ingredients and their INCI names
- The grey area: ingredients with a dual origin
- Vegan, cruelty-free, natural cosmetics: the differences
- How to recognise vegan cosmetics: three ways
- Are vegan cosmetics better for the skin?
- Vegan cosmetics by example: what is in VEGAN FOX
- Five common misconceptions about vegan cosmetics
- Vegan is not automatically sustainable
- Conclusion
- Frequently asked questions
What does "vegan" mean for cosmetics?
Put simply: vegan cosmetics contain no ingredients that come from animals. This covers substances for which animals are killed, such as collagen from animal skin, as well as substances that animals "only" produce, such as beeswax, honey or lanolin from sheep's wool. Vegetarian cosmetics, by contrast, only avoid parts of dead animals and may contain honey or beeswax.
Important to know: the term "vegan" is not legally defined for cosmetics in the EU. Manufacturers can therefore use it according to their own standards. Some only mean the formula, others also make sure that no animal-derived processing aids are used when the raw materials are made. That is exactly why there are seals that check uniform criteria – more on that below.
Why are there animal ingredients in cosmetics at all?
Many animal raw materials have a long tradition: beeswax makes lip care firm, lanolin keeps moisture in the skin, carmine colours lipstick an intense red. They are often cheap, well researched and reliable. Today, however, there are plant-based, mineral or synthetic alternatives for almost all of them – for example plant waxes instead of beeswax or plant butter instead of lanolin.
Typical animal ingredients and their INCI names
Ingredients are listed on the packaging according to the international INCI nomenclature. The following table shows the names under which animal-derived substances often appear there and which vegan alternatives exist.
| Substance | How it appears in the INCI list | Origin | Vegan alternative (examples) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beeswax | Cera Alba, Beeswax | Bees | Candelilla wax, carnauba wax |
| Honey | Mel, Honey | Bees | Glycerin, agave syrup |
| Wool wax | Lanolin | Sheep's wool | Shea butter, plant oils |
| Carmine | CI 75470, Carmine | Scale insects | Plant-based or synthetic colourants |
| Shellac | Shellac | Lac insect | Plant resins |
| Collagen, elastin | Collagen, Hydrolyzed Collagen, Elastin | Animal skin, connective tissue | Plant proteins, hyaluronic acid from fermentation |
| Keratin | Keratin, Hydrolyzed Keratin | Feathers, hooves, hair | Wheat or soy protein |
| Silk protein | Sericin, Silk Amino Acids | Silkworms | Plant proteins |
| Milk components | Lac, Milk Protein, Casein | Cow's milk, goat's milk | Oat, rice or soy milk |
The list is not complete, but it covers the substances you will come across most often. How to read an INCI list in general – order, Latin plant names, fragrance allergens – is explained step by step in a separate article.
The grey area: ingredients with a dual origin
It gets tricky with ingredients that can be produced from animals as well as from plants, synthetically or by fermentation. The INCI name is the same in both cases – so you cannot tell from the list where the substance comes from. Some examples that also appear in our products:
- Glycerin: can be obtained from animal fats or from plant oils. It is found, for example, in our face cream and the hand creams.
- Stearic Acid: a fatty acid from animal or plant fat. Contained in the VEGAN FOX face cream.
- Lecithin: can come from egg yolk or from soy or sunflowers. Found in the hand creams and the face cream.
- Lactic Acid: sounds like milk, but for cosmetics it is often produced by fermenting plant sugars. It is in the face peel and the cleansing foams.
- Urea: is generally produced synthetically for cosmetics. It appears in the INCI list of our cleansing foams.
- Sodium Hyaluronate (hyaluronic acid): used to be obtained from rooster combs, today mostly by bacterial fermentation. Contained in the face peel.
- Squalane: used to come mainly from shark liver; today there is plant-based squalane, for example from olives or sugar cane.
With vegan cosmetics, the manufacturer must ensure that such substances come from non-animal sources. As a customer you cannot check this yourself. The only things that help here are the manufacturer's explicit "vegan" claim or a seal whose inspectors check the raw material documentation.
Vegan, cruelty-free, natural cosmetics: the differences
These three terms are constantly mixed up. Yet they describe very different things:
| Term | What it says | What it does not say |
|---|---|---|
| Vegan | No ingredients of animal origin | Nothing about animal testing, naturalness or tolerability |
| Cruelty-free | Product and, depending on the seal, raw materials developed without animal testing | Can still contain beeswax, honey or lanolin |
| Natural cosmetics | Mainly natural raw materials, rules depend on the seal | Not automatically vegan – beeswax and honey are common there |
Animal testing in the EU
In the EU, animal testing of finished cosmetic products has been banned since 2004 and of cosmetic ingredients since 2009. Since 2013 there has also been a marketing ban: cosmetics whose ingredients were tested on animals for cosmetic purposes after that date may not be sold in the EU. A "not tested on animals" claim on cosmetics sold in the EU therefore initially only describes the legal standard.
It is not quite that simple, though: many raw materials are used not only in cosmetics but in other industries too. They are covered by European chemicals law (REACH), and there the authorities can require animal tests in certain cases, for example to protect workers handling large quantities. Seals for cruelty-free cosmetics therefore often set stricter criteria than the law.
Natural cosmetics
"Natural cosmetics" is not a legally protected term either. Seals such as NATRUE or COSMOS, which set rules on raw materials, production and permitted additives, provide reliable orientation. A statement such as "99% ingredients of natural origin" is a manufacturer's claim about the formula – it does not automatically make a product certified natural cosmetics.
How to recognise vegan cosmetics: three ways
1. Seals
The best-known labels for vegan cosmetics are:
- Vegan trademark of the British Vegan Society – the sunflower with the word "Vegan".
- V-Label – the yellow V, known from food, so far less common on cosmetics.
- PETA "Cruelty free and vegan" – the bunny with heart-shaped ears, which marks both: vegan and cruelty-free.
Seals such as Leaping Bunny or the "bunny with protecting hand", on the other hand, stand for cruelty-free cosmetics and do not automatically say anything about vegan ingredients. The exact criteria differ from seal to seal – if in doubt, check the website of the respective organisation.
2. Manufacturer's statement
Many brands carry no seal but explicitly label their products as vegan. This is permitted, but it is based on the manufacturer's own checks. Reputable suppliers answer questions about the origin of individual raw materials.
3. Checking the INCI list
With the table above you can quickly find clearly animal-derived substances. For ingredients with a dual origin, the list alone does not help – then you need one of the other two pieces of information.
Are vegan cosmetics better for the skin?
Honest answer: the "vegan" label says nothing about how well a product cares for the skin or how well it is tolerated. Vegan cosmetics can contain fragrances, preservatives or surfactants to which some people react sensitively – just like conventional cosmetics. Anyone prone to allergies should therefore always check the INCI list and, for health questions, clarify with a doctor which substances to avoid.
An example from our own range: the VEGAN FOX shower gels are vegan but conventionally formulated. According to the INCI list, they contain, among other things, Sodium Laureth Sulfate as a surfactant and Methylchloroisothiazolinone and Methylisothiazolinone as preservatives. These are permitted in low concentrations in rinse-off products, but can trigger allergies in some people. Vegan and "suitable for every skin" are simply two different things.
Vegan cosmetics around the sauna
For sauna-goers the same applies as for everyone else: the instructions for use count more than the word "vegan". Our vegan face peel with 2.5% lactic acid, for instance, should not be used directly before or during the sauna according to the product description, but as a separate ritual on another day. After the last sauna round, it is best to apply creams only once the skin has cooled down briefly.
Vegan cosmetics by example: what is in VEGAN FOX
All care products in our shop are from VEGAN FOX and, according to the product descriptions, are vegan. For the body scrubs, Amber cosmetic Ltd. from Latvia is stated as the manufacturer. Instead of lanolin or beeswax, the formulas rely on plant oils and butters. The table shows the main plant ingredients and the share of ingredients of natural origin stated by the manufacturer.
| Product | Plant oils and butters according to INCI | Natural origin (manufacturer's statement) |
|---|---|---|
| Hand cream shea butter & macadamia | Avocado oil, macadamia oil, shea butter, babassu oil, sunflower oil | 98% |
| Hand cream mango butter & avocado oil | Avocado oil, mango butter, sunflower oil | 99% |
| Face cream | Almond oil, avocado oil, sunflower oil | not stated |
| Foot cream aloe vera | Castor oil, essential oils (tea tree, lavender, mint, bergamot) | 99% |
| Ginger body scrub | Avocado oil, shea butter, jojoba oil, rapeseed oil | 99% |
| Face peel | no oils, gel with lactic acid, aloe vera and chamomile | 98.4% |
What you don't find is also interesting: none of the products contains beeswax, lanolin, carmine or collagen. The red and orange shades of the shower gels come from colourants with CI numbers such as CI 16255 or CI 15985 – in vegan cosmetics, animal colourants such as carmine (CI 75470) may not be used here.
Five common misconceptions about vegan cosmetics
"Vegan means chemical-free."
No. Everything, including water and plant oil, is chemistry. Vegan cosmetics may contain synthetic substances, such as preservatives like phenoxyethanol or surfactants. All that matters is that no ingredient is of animal origin.
"Sounds animal, so it isn't vegan."
That is not always true either. Lactic acid usually has nothing to do with milk any more, urea in cosmetics is generally produced synthetically, and hyaluronic acid today comes mainly from fermentation. Conversely, "Cera Alba" sounds harmless but is beeswax.
"Cruelty-free means vegan."
Two different criteria: a hand cream with beeswax can have been developed without animal testing and still not be vegan.
"Vegan skincare is less effective."
Whether a cream cares well for the skin depends on the formula, not the label. Plant butters such as shea or mango butter and oils such as avocado or almond oil are proven components of rich skincare – in conventional cosmetics too.
"Vegan is more expensive."
Not necessarily. Many vegan alternatives are standard raw materials. The price depends more on brand, pack size and formula. It is best to compare the unit price per 100 ml or 100 g.
Vegan is not automatically sustainable
Vegan cosmetics do without animal raw materials – that is a clear criterion. The word says nothing about other questions: how the plant oils were grown, whether the packaging is recyclable or how far a product was transported. If that matters to you too, also look at the packaging material, refill options and actually using products up. A cream that expires half full in the cupboard is never sustainable – vegan or not.
If you want to try vegan cosmetics without buying lots of individual products, the Head-to-Toe Care Set contains eight vegan products from shower gel to foot cream.
Related reading: Reading an INCI list: how to understand the ingredients in your cosmetics · Face cream with almond oil and avocado oil: what's in our cream · Cosmetics shelf life: PAO symbol, best-before date and proper storage
Conclusion
Vegan cosmetics means: no ingredients of animal origin – no more and no less. The term is not legally defined, so seals such as the Vegan Society trademark, the V-Label or the PETA logo provide the most reliable orientation, followed by a clear manufacturer's statement. You can spot clearly animal-derived substances such as Cera Alba, Lanolin or CI 75470 yourself in the INCI list; for ingredients with a dual origin such as glycerin or lecithin you depend on the manufacturer. And: vegan is neither the same as cruelty-free nor as natural cosmetics – and says nothing about whether a product suits your skin. For that, the INCI list remains the most important tool.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between vegan and cruelty-free cosmetics?
Vegan cosmetics contain no animal ingredients. Cruelty-free cosmetics were developed without animal testing but can contain honey, beeswax or lanolin. For both together, you need a seal that checks both criteria.
Is lactic acid in cosmetics vegan?
Usually yes. For cosmetics, lactic acid is often produced by fermenting plant sugars. Whether this is the case for a particular product is shown by the "vegan" claim or a seal.
Are vegan cosmetics automatically natural cosmetics?
No. Vegan cosmetics can contain synthetic ingredients, and natural cosmetics often contain beeswax or honey. The two terms describe different things.
Is there still animal testing for cosmetics in the EU?
For cosmetics themselves, animal testing has been completely banned in the EU since 2013. For raw materials also used outside cosmetics, chemicals law can require tests in individual cases. Strict seals take this into account.
Are vegan cosmetics better tolerated?
Not automatically. Vegan products can also contain fragrances or preservatives that irritate sensitive skin. Check the INCI list and, for health questions, clarify with a doctor what you should avoid.
How do I recognise vegan cosmetics without a seal?
By a clear "vegan" statement from the manufacturer and by the INCI list: if it contains substances such as Cera Alba, Mel, Lanolin, Carmine or Collagen, the product is not vegan.
Discover the vegan VEGAN FOX care products
Personally written by Martin – founder of BeachAndSteam and sauna operator at Lake Kulkwitz for more than 18 years.