Probably. The vast majority of cosmetic ingredients are not derived from animal sources. If the vegan-ness of the cosmetics you use is important to you, it is essential that you research ingredients and know what is vegan and what isn’t. The Humblebee & Me DIY Encyclopedia is a good place to start!
These are the most commonly used non-vegan cosmetic ingredients:
- Beeswax and other bee products (royal jelly, propolis, pollen, honey)
- Tallow & lard (usually only used in soap); also watch for “sodium tallowate” on ingredient lists—that’s saponified tallow)
- Hydrolyzed silk and other forms of silk, like Tussah silk
- Pearl powder, hydrolyzed or not
- Carmine (watch for it in coloured micas as well)
- Lanolin
- Animal milks and milk powders (not terribly common outside soap)
- N-Acetyl Glucosamine (it can be made from shells; check with your supplier)
- Snail mucin
If you have doubts or further curiosities, please do your own research. I’ve written two massive articles to get you started: Part 1 & Part 2. A simple “is X vegan?” Google search will usually answer your question, though beware of sources that say “X ingredient can be derived from animals, and therefore it is not vegan”. Many ingredients can be derived from animal sources, but it’s far cheaper to use plant sources or synthesize them, so you’ll probably never find an animal-derived version for sale. Examples include hyaluronic acid, stearic acid, urea, and glycerin. Always double check with your supplier, but you can be very confident that vegan versions of these ingredients both exists and are far more popular than animal derived versions purely due to cost issues—so you don’t have to hope your supplier is vegan-minded, you can just count on them choosing the cheapest option!
Looking for substitutions? Click the links above to view the Humblebee & Me DIY Encyclopedia entries for each ingredient; those entries always include substitution information! Also, read this.
Posted in: Ingredients
