Ishtar Darlington
Depending on your reasons for making the switch, you may or may not want to extend it past your eating habits. If it’s solely for health reasons you might just want to adopt a plant based diet rather than going completely vegan. If you have concerns over the environment and/or the treatment of animals then the next step is to make sure you’re using humane household products.
Taking a look at the ingredients list on your bottle of shampoo, detergent or make-up can reveal some unsettling additives. Glycerin/glycerol is a common ingredient in many household products and, unfortunately, unless stated otherwise, is usually from animal sources (cow or sheep fat). On closer inspection, there’s a long list of not-so-obvious animal ingredients in many of our home and beauty products. Things like cochineal, elastin, carotene, keratin, lanolin and shellac are all big no-nos.
And, even if your nail polish or washing up liquid doesn’t contain any of these animal products, there’s the whole area of animal testing to take into account. Animal testing is a huge industry and is very widely practiced. Surprisingly most people seem to turn a blind eye to it, most likely because they aren’t aware of what it actually entails (but that’s a whole other post in itself). To ensure no animals were harmed in the making of your lipsticks and lotions look out for the cruelty-free symbol on packaging or check that it’s approved by the vegan society.
Fortunately, there is a growing range of vegan and cruelty free products becoming available online and in shops. Many of the soaps, face masks and bath bombs in Lush stores are vegan as are the brands Kiss my Face, Dr Bronner, Urban Decay, Kat Von D Beauty and Faith in Nature. If you’re feeling adventurous you may want to try your hand at making your own cleaning products and, you’ll be happy to hear, it’s surprisingly easy. Taking a quick peak on Google will provide you with plenty of cruelty free, earth friendly recipes for cleaning your face, clothes and kitchen counters.
