Tags
animal testing, cruelty free, Giovanni, hair, hair spray, Kiss My Face, labels, leaping bunny, personal care, product, Pureology, salon, shampoo, styling, symbols, vegan, vivisection, Whole Body, Whole Foods
If time allowed, I could spend hours in the “Whole Body” section of Whole Foods, my favorite store, smelling the scents, testing new lotions and make-up, and basking in its organic glory.
Whoa is me, I have other things to do and the staff might kind of start looking at me funny.
But how wonderful are all those different lotions, face washes, lipsticks, soaps, shampoos, hair styling products, eye liners, exfoliates, eye creams, sun screens, and more?
And in all the different scents – lavender, vanilla chai, mango, coconut lime….
OK, snapping out of my “Whole Body” day dream now. Sorry.
Can you tell I kind of love smell-good personal care products, though? I bet I’m not the only one.
I don’t love cruelty-free, vegan personal care items for what’s in them – I love them for what’s NOT in them (namely animal products and nasty chemicals) and for who they were NOT tested on.
It’s a misconception that animal testing (also called vivisection) is a thing of the past. A few years ago I asked a girl at a salon if their products were tested on animals, and she replied, “no, they haven’t done that since, like, the 70s.” She was shocked when I shared that vivisection is unfortunately still happening.
It is shocking.
Not only are these tests extremely cruel to the animals (which is bad enough), they are totally unnecessary. There are far more accurate and effective ways to test cosmetics and personal care products now that don’t involve pouring toxic chemicals into bunnies’ eyes to see what happens.
There are so many chemicals in things these days. You’d be appalled at some of the carcinogens (yes, known cancer causing agents) that are found in the products we rub on our skin (which gulps it right up), and even in our baby products (yikes!)!
There are a HUGE number of personal care products of every different variety that are vegan, not tested on animals, not full of nasty chemicals, luxurious, effective, and fragrant (yay!) out there.
So, let’s shop cruelty-free, shall we?
The very easiest way to do this is by shopping at Whole Foods if you have one in your area because they don’t carry any products that were tested on animals to begin with. Then all you have to do is look to make sure there are no animal ingredients in the product. (Here’s a convenient list of animal ingredients!)
Not everywhere has a heaven, I mean a Whole Foods, though. So, to shop at any store, I recommend doing the following:
Look for the Leaping Bunny!
…or any other symbol that indicates cruelty free and vegan. Many of them are shown below.
Even if a product says “Not tested on animals,” check the label to make sure there are no animal ingredients. And just because a product is vegan doesn’t mean it’s not tested on animals – tricky, tricky. Just read carefully.
Sometimes it will just say “Not tested on animals. No animal ingredients,” without any symbol. However it is stated, it’s a beautiful thing to see!
Curious about the personal care items you already have? Check them against this handy database of companies/products that test on animals.
You might find that you already use some cruelty-free items (hooray!), and for the ones that aren’t? Recycle the containers when they’ve been used up and go shopping for a cruelty-free alternative that you’ll love. How much fun is this!?
So what do I vegan in personal care products? A LOT. Let’s start with hair care for today:

I adore my “Kiss My Face” brand shampoo that, as promised, leaves my hair soft, shiny, and wonderfully manageable! *Tossing hair now*

Here’s the conditioner I use every day. My hair is fine, so I like this because it “strengthens thin, fragile hair,” detangles, and adds volume! Va va voom!

I use Giovanni Sunset Styling Lotion to straighten (by blowing it dry) OR curl my hair (by scrunching it in). I love that it’s versatile and protects my hair from heat styling.

Here’s how that Giovanni label looks – no leaping bunny symbol, but it does say clearly, “No Animal By-Products and Cruelty Free.”
- If I want a little extra lift and volume, I use Pureology’s Root Lift, and to set my hair style, I spray on Beauty Without Cruelty’s Natural Hold Hairspray.

Last but not least, guys don’t have to be left out! My hubby likes this Giovanni styling glue for his hair. (And I like that it smells good!)
I’ll post more about other personal care and even household items (cleaning supplies and more that are tested on animals – boo!) in the future, but this gives you an idea of what to look for to start out!
Your assignment this week:
Check to see if any of your personal care items are already cruelty-free and vegan. If not, choose one to replace with a fabulous alternative, and get shopping! 🙂
To making bunnies leap with joy!
Sarah
P.S. If you find that any of your current products are vegan and cruelty-free, let us know in the comments below – and give yourself a big high five!
Love this post! I actually started using one of the face wash products that you use. I was inspired to switch after staying with you this summer and trying out the product…I am going to look into some the hair products you posted as well 🙂 Great work!!
Thank you, Ashley! I’m so glad you liked the face wash you tried! Let me know how you like the other products you try too!
I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE Giovanni Sunset Styling Lotion! It is the best product out there for scrunchy, fun, beachy curls! It never makes my hair feel crunchy, which is always what I didn’t like about other scrunching products! And it doesn’t leave your hair feeling gross or greasy if you use it to straighten!!
And Pureology is such a fabulous line! It makes hair do amazing things!
To Leaping Bunnies!!!!
I agree, Becca! It’s one of my favorite products I use. Thanks for sharing!
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Loving this post (found it through the link to my page), and love your site, woman! I just did a Beauty Look List of my fav new beauty products for spring that are vegan and cruelty-free. Your readers might find some new stuff they like, too. 🙂
http://thelilfoxes.com/2013/04/18/spring-look-list-beauty/
Thanks so much! I’ll definitely check out that post; I love your site!
We couldn’t agree more! your post is right on ~ it’s sad how many products still do animal testing when there are other methods that can be used as you had said and some people think that the testing no longer exists. That is one of the reasons why we started making body products and why we make it a habit to educate people that what you buy in stores is filled with chemicals and most of it has been tested on animals. thank you for starting this blog!
Thanks! It’s exciting to see people getting interested in buying items that aren’t tested on animals. More and more people are becoming aware!
Hello! I’m slowly moving myself over to cruelty-free. Searching Google Images for a picture of the Whole Foods cosmetics area, I found this post of yours. May I reproduce your photo of their interior (the first picture in your post) on my website? I will of course give you photo credit. Please feel free to take a peek at my website, “Teapots and Polkadots,” to learn a bit about me. Thank you for considering my request.
Hi Juli! Sorry for my late reply. Good for you for moving to cruelty-free; that is awesome!! I actually found that picture on the Internet myself, so please feel free to use it! And keep up the great work on moving towards a vegan lifestyle!