Vegan

About 3 months ago I was hired by my first strictly vegan bride. What I thought would be a cinch, turned out to be a whole new lesson in reading labels and understanding ingredients. Initially when we had our first consultation, I used all of my minerals on her. I knew the minerals from La Bella Donna (www.labelladonna.com) were fine for vegans because that particular company only uses 4 minerals in their makeup and only plant derived emulsifiers in their lipsticks/glosses. But when she contacted me closer to the date of her wedding, asking me to re-think the lip color, that was the start of a search for the true definition of vegan cosmetics that I've been continuing to investigate. Her main concern as we decided on the lip color was to ensure that not only were the cosmetics we were using cruelty-free (no animal testing) but free of any animal byproducts as well. I spent the week before her wedding scrambling around, reading labels and hunting down Vegan cosmetic brands only to find that unless one is a vegan and familiar with the terminology, it's a challenge to truly understand the minute details of these ingredients.

As a meat eater, I occasionally forget that when I'm reading labels for this blog that just because a company is "green" doesn't mean that they are cruelty and animal byproduct free. Furthermore, you can read all the ingredients on the planet but if you don't know exactly what they are on their own, then you can't really know if the particular product you are reading about is precisely what you are looking for. For example, one instance where I was reading ingredients at Sephora, I read that there was "Carnuba Wax" used. Well I automatically assumed that "Carnuba" meant animal because the word I associated with it was Carnivore. When I went home and looked up Carnuba wax on the internet, it defined it as a plant based wax. I was a bit embarrassed with my uneducated assumption of the word and was reminded of the horrible grades I received in my high school biology class.

Having said that, it's weeks later and I've done some reading on Vegan cosmetics and here's what I've learned so far:

A specific company can say it's cruelty free but the thing is that a lot of cosmetic brands are owned by one large corporation, such as Loreal. Loreal tests their products on animals so even if your smaller label says it doesn't test on animals, the company that owns it may. So make sure you know whether or not the company you buy from is owned corporate or not. On the other hand, MAC cosmetics is owned by Estee Lauder and MAC has absolutely no testing on animals whatsoever. And it's a fact. So it's important to do your research and if you're curious you can always contact the customer service number for whichever company you are using.

Ingredients made from animal byproducts were more of a challenge for me to find. But here are some that stood out as relatively common: Beeswax, Honey, Dairy products.

here are a few that were a mystery to me and so i took some bits from wikipedia to make the definitions as simple and straight forward as possible:

1. Lanolin

Lanolin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lanolin (German, from Latin lāna, "wool", and oleum, "oil") also called Adeps Lanae, wool wax or wool grease, is a yellow waxy substance secreted by the sebaceous glands of wool-bearing animals. Most lanolin used by humans comes from domestic sheep. Lanolin is also frequently, but incorrectly, referred to as ‘Wool Fat’ by many of the world’s pharmacopoeia even though it has been known for more than 150 years that lanolin is devoid of glycerides and is in fact a wax, not a fat.[1][2] Lanolin's waterproofing property aids sheep in shedding water from their coats. Certain breeds of sheep produce large amounts of lanolin, and the extraction can be performed by squeezing the sheep's harvested wool between rollers. Most or all of the lanolin is removed from wool when it is processed into textiles, such as yarn or felt.
Lanolin’s role in nature is to protect wool and skin against the ravages of climate and the environment – it also seems to play a role in integumental hygiene.[3] It is therefore not surprising that lanolin and its many derivatives are used extensively in products designed for the protection, treatment and beautification of human skin.[4]



2. Royal Jelly
also from wikipedia
Royal jelly is a honey bee secretion that is used in the nutrition of larvae, as well as adult queens.[1] It is secreted from the glands in the hypopharynx of worker bees, and fed to all larvae in the colony.[2]

Royal jelly is collected and sold as a dietary supplement, claiming various health benefits because of components like B-complex vitamins such as pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) and vitamin B6 (pyridoxine). The overall composition of royal jelly is 67% water, 12.5% crude protein (including small amounts of many different amino acids), and 11% simple sugars (monosaccharides), also including a relatively high amount (5%) of fatty acids. It also contains many trace minerals, some enzymes, antibacterial and antibiotic components, and trace amounts of vitamin C.
Royal jelly can also be found in some beauty products.
Royal jelly may cause allergic reactions in humans ranging from hives, asthma, to even fatal anaphylaxis.[14][15][16][17][18][19] The incidence of allergic side effect in people that consume royal jelly is unknown. However, it has been suggested that the risk of having an allergy to royal jelly is higher in people who already have known allergies.[14]


3. Carmine
also from wikipedia
Carmine (pronounced /ˈkɑrmɪn/ or /ˈkɑrmaɪn/), also called Crimson Lake, Cochineal, Natural Red 4, C.I. 75470, or E120, is a pigment of a bright red color obtained from the carminic acid produced by some scale insects, such as the cochineal and the Polish cochineal, and is used as a general term for a particularly deep red color of the same name. Carmine is used in the manufacture of artificial flowers, paints, crimson ink, rouge, and other cosmetics, and is routinely added to food products such as yogurt and certain brands of juice, most notably those of the ruby


To conclude, i'd like to thank my vegan bride for sparking my interest in uncovering the general mystery of Vegan cosmetics and i look forward to knowing more....unfortunately as far as food goes...i don't think i could ever give up meat and dairy...but thanks all the same!!! :)