Switching to Vegan Personal Care Products

Image via Cascadian Farm on Flickr.com

If you regularly keep up with our blog, you already know that we’re your biggest cheerleaders when it comes to switching to a vegan meal plan. After all, a plant-based diet has loads of benefits. Whether you want to get your weight under control, take preventative action against disease, or even reverse an existing health condition, loading up on nature’s bounty is the most natural (and delicious) way to do so.

With that said, doesn’t it make sense to pay just as much attention to what you put on your body as to what you put in your body? I’m talking about everything from soap, to deodorant, to shaving cream, to lotion, and everything in between. Your skin is like a giant sponge. What you slather on the outside eventually ends up on the inside. That’s why it’s super important to take just as much care when filling your medicine cabinet as you do when filling your plate.

Luckily, it’s super easy to swap out your tried and true personal care products with ones that are vegan and cruelty-free. Not only will you be doing your body a favor by saying “no way” to yucky ingredients like crushed animal bones and urea (animal urine – gross!), you’ll also be making a contribution to animal welfare and a more sustainable planet. Ready to get started? Here’s a quick and easy guide to making the switch to using vegan personal care products.

Take inventory

First of all, take a good look at all of your personal care products. Empty every bathroom drawer and cabinet. A lot of that stuff is probably old, crusty, and expired. Toss it out! For the products that you use every day, scan the front and back for a vegan and/or cruelty-free symbol. You can also reference the PETA Database of Companies that Do & Do Not Test. Any products that don’t make the cut should be replaced with a vegan and cruelty-free product when you run out.

Read labels

Now that you’ve adopted a vegan meal plan, you’re probably used to reading labels at the grocery store. Therefore, it should be a breeze to apply that same habit when you’re shopping for vegan personal care products. The PETA Database of Animal Ingredients is a handy resource to use when browsing in the beauty section to ensure the products you’re buying are free of animal products. You can also pull out your phone and use the Bunny Free app to check if a particular company is cruelty-free.

Cruelty-free vs. vegan

You would think that cruelty-free and vegan are one in the same. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. Companies that declare that they are vegan could very well test their products on animals, and companies that proclaim that they are cruelty-free may utilize animal products. Be sure to cover your bases and only buy products that clearly state they are both vegan and cruelty-free.

Just like when you adopted a vegan meal plan, it’s important to focus on the positive aspects when making the switch to using vegan personal care products. Who know, maybe you’ll stumble upon a new moisturizer or shave gel you like even better than what you were using before. Best of all, you’ll feel good knowing that the stuff you’re putting on your body matches the clean, pure, natural, and healthy stuff you’re putting in your body.

Do you have a favorite vegan personal care product?