User:SlimVirgin/vc

Vegan cosmetics are make-up, haircare and skincare products that contain no animal products, and no ingredients that have been tested on animals. The British Vegan Society maintains an international certification standard, and will certify a product as vegan only if the manufacture and development of the product and its ingredients did not involve the use of any animal product, and did not involve testing on animals conducted by the manufacturer, or on its behalf, or by parties over whom the manufacturer had effective control.

Animal ingredients, particularly fats, obtained from slaughterhouses and put through the rendering process are ubiquitous in cosmetics because they are cheap. Common ingredients include tallow or cow fat in soap; glycerine, derived from collagen (though there is also a plant form), a lubricant and humectant in haircare products and moisturizers; and stearic acid, a fatty acid, usually from cows, sheep and pigs, and sometimes from shea butter and cocoa butter, used in face creams, shaving foam and shampoos. Lactic acid, an alpha-hydroxy acid derived from animal milk, is another common ingredient, as are allantoin, derived from cow's urine or the comfrey plant, found in shampoos, moisturizers and toothpaste, and lanolin from sheep's wool found in lip balm and moisturizers.

Cosmetics testing on animals was outlawed in Europe from 2009, though the sale of cosmetics that have been tested continues.

The following is a list of vegan cosmetics suppliers, including manufacturers. Many are certified by the British Vegan Society, and some by other bodies, including Beauty Without Cruelty, the South African Vegan Society and Choose Cruelty-Free in Australia.