We can all agree that skincare has gone from being something that was just blindly part of the daily routine into something that we all need to know more about, especially when it comes to knowing where our products come from and how they’ve been made.
Shopping for the right skincare products can be a little daunting when you’re standing in the aisle of a high street store and have hundreds of options right in front of you. It’s important to know as well that there isn’t one main body that represents cruelty-free products. There are many different companies out there that certify whether or not a skincare product is cruelty-free.
To try and make life a little easier for you when trying to navigate the minefield of skincare, we’ve compiled a list of some of the companies out there making an effort to have cruelty-free products. We’ll even highlight some of their best sellers to give an idea of what UK shoppers are going for.
Some of the best cruelty-free skincare brands to look at include:
- Lani
- Elemis
- Kiss My Face
- Nakin
- No B.S
- Paula’s Choice
- Weleda
- Holland & Barrett
- Superdrug
- Bulldog
- Lush
Lani
Starting off the list is a brand with a body oil that smells incredible and works wonders on tired skin. The Lani Tropical Body Oil is made with sweet almonds, coconuts and Madagascan ylang-ylang. It’s a reliable skincare product that smells fantastic after rubbing it in. You’ll feel like you’re on holiday it smells that good.
And have a look at their face masks too, especially the purifying chocolate mousse mask.
Elemis
With one of the top premium vegan skincare ranges out there, Elemis have several skincare products for both guys and girls, covering pretty much your whole day. They have a bath & shower oil (averaging £55 a bottle), hair & body wash for men, collagen night cream and resurfacing serums, as well as neck balms and shaving gels.
It’s quite an extensive range you can view here.
Kiss My Face
One of those areas you’d probably never even thought about checking whether the product has been animal tested or not is sunscreen. With it getting closer to holiday season, you’ll have your work cut out if you don’t have a good look at every label.
To save time, one of the best rated Vegan sun creams we found was Kiss My Face. Hard to say with trying to do an Alan Partridge impression, this SPF 30 sunblock is a 3 in 1 cream promising to soothe, hydrate and be non-irritable, using oat proteins and Safflower to provide the same level of protection as regular sun cream. For those who like to be protected, they also have an SPF50 face cream available on Amazon.
Nakin
Staying close to home, Nakin is a UK based natural skincare brand that gets all their ingredients from sustainable sources and meets Leaping Bunny criteria as a cruelty-free product.
Their cleansing milk is wheat and gluten-free, and a great option if you struggle with keeping skin in good condition after using your regular toner to clean or remove makeup.
No B.S.
Standing for No Bad Stuff, NO B.S. are known for their duos; double sets of creams and serums you use in tandem. Their Fresh & Smooth duo has their extremely popular Vitamin C+E Serum and Retional Night Cream.
Very trendy to have right now in the U.S., the brand can be purchased on American Amazon (watch out for fees) or Feelunique here in the UK.
Paula’s Choice
Quite hard to find on the high street but easily available here in the UK on the likes of FeelGood and The Hut, Paula’s Choice is known for their range of skin boosters that specifically target brown spots, blemishes, pore size and skin tone.
They’re also very clear on their site if any product has an animal by-product, so you know what is in everything easily.
Weleda
Certified by NATURE.org, Weleda is one of the biggest cruelty-free brands on Amazon right now. They have a dynamic range of products covering everything from toothpaste to deodorants, but obviously we’re interested in their skincare range.
They call their mini-range Skin Food, and that includes body butter, lip butter and a daily cream. For anyone who travels a lot, we’d recommend their two-pack of small 1 ounce (30ml) skin food creams that you’d easily fit in your liquids bag for the airport.
Holland & Barrett
Not to be sniffed at, Holland & Barrett might be the best-kept secret for Vegan skincare we have right now. Their underrated range of store brand CBD day cream, Vitamin F night cream and muscle balms are highly rated amongst customers.
You can also get them for a steal if you happen to visit during one of their infamous Buy One Get One For A Penny sales.
Superdrug
Another high street name trying to lead the way in cruelty-free skincare, Superdrug’s B. Cosmetic skincare range has exploded in popularity this year. Veganuary seemed to be when people started to take notice and the B. range is specially designed for different age groups, with products made for women in their 20s,30s, 40s and 50s specifically.
Their Micellar Water Facial Wipes are a hot product right now, and their B. Men Beard Conditioning Oil is one of the cheaper cruelty-free beard oils available right now, with a 30ml bottle only £8.99.
Bulldog
Skincare is just as important for men these days, but it is fair to say that they don’t have as many options on the shelf. Just walk into a high street chemist and notice how small their space for everything is compared to one aisle dedicated to hair products.
Within that small market, Bulldog is one of the most well-known and available in pretty much every supermarket too. You’ll be happy to know that their range of moisturisers is certified by Cruelty Free International. Their range includes different types of cream depending on the skin type, covering everything from sensitive male skin to stubbly skin where you’d want to work in a moisturiser around facial hair that can be prone to splitting.
Lush
We thought we’d finish by mentioning a brand who we think really brought the idea of product knowledge to the forefront over the last decade. It is fair to say that Lush has helped thousands of us across the country take stock of where our products come from and make something like source knowledge clear and concise.
While their bath bombs are the stuff of a legend, their skincare range is also very dynamic too. We did just mention that Bulldog was the top men’s skincare brand, but next time you’re going by one, stop and take a look at some of their men’s products. The creams in particular do a great job of keeping skin feeling fresh after shaving.
And don’t forget that if you have enough pots lying around, you can take them back to the store to get a new cream for free!
Knowing where your products come from
A final piece of advice for anyone interested in learning more about the validity of their skincare products: always check on your phone who has certified the product you’re thinking of buying, as well as who the brand’s parent company is.
Some smaller skincare brands are owned by large cosmetic companies who may still test other products on animals, so having that little bit of knowledge can help a lot when you go shopping in future.
This commercial content is compiled via expert opinion. Clicking in certain hyperlinks within this article will redirect you to a 3rd party.
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