Being a Veg*n is incredibly difficult especially as you move into smaller and smaller towns. I do live in a smaller town, the population is around 50,000 but it’s also a college town so population can shift dramatically when school is in session. Unfortunately, in college towns it’s so much harder to be a veg*n, partially because of the student population shifts. Restaurants and bars shut down all the time because of lost revenue during the summer months, and imagining a niche market like a veg*n restaurant would be even more difficult. Everything here evolves around chicken or beef (burger shops and fried chicken abound). We don’t have very many if any options for vegans and a few options at restaurants for vegetarians. If I was a vegan I wouldn’t trust the impossible meat at BK, although it is rather good, it’s still fried next to beef patties.
I was a vegetarian for health reasons and do favor purchasing animal products that are humanely raised. I do buy organic eggs. For Lent, I’ve been a foodie vegan. Honestly, I’ve never lasted longer than 2 weeks. I do eat meatless at least one night a week. Although I’m no longer a practicing vegetarian I feel for the vegetarians, it’s hard. So much planning and checking of labels. Something as simple as sugar isn’t vegetarian since the sugar can be bleached with animal bones to give it that white color. Meal prep was the hardest. Finding good meals that didn’t revolve around pasta was near impossible when I started.
To help with the label check I’m going to go through some vegan and vegetarian skin care and other lifestyle items to help a little. Certain purchases are pretty easy but I’ve been debating adding some skin happy recipes I make to this blog for awhile and a lot of those are veg*n.
Just so we are clear my definition of vegetarianism is a lacto-ovo-vegetarian. I did eat milk products, eggs, and honey. As far as fashion goes I did wear wool but did not wear leather. I did not consider fish to be part of the vegetarian diet. Pescatarians are basically lacto-ovo-vegetarians who eat fish. My definition of vegan is the strictest form where absolutely no animal products (including refined sugar) were used. There is a lot of leeway regarding vegetarianism and different people have of foods and products they do and do not include in their lifestyle on a continuum from pescatarians (some do consider themselves vegetarians) to the strictest of vegetarians (some don’t eat honey or eggs but may drink milk) before taking that next step to a vegan. Hopefully these definitions with clear up any questions about what I feel a vegetarian is since there are many opinions.
Vegan Skincare
Let’s start with vegan skincare. Anything that’s vegan by default will also be vegetarian. Today we’re focusing on vegan and I’ll include vegetarian skin care another day.
In order to be considered Vegan skin care there are generally 2 rules you have to follow:
- Does not contain animal products
- Is not tested on animals/cruelty free
The second point comes into a huge question mark if the product is sold in China as China, by law, does require animal testing of its skincare. My own work around from the ethical standpoint is that it is a requirement of the company in order to do business in China, which has a massive market, so I’m not really going to think negatively of that company. But I can definitely see why people would get upset since it’s cruelty-free with an asterisk. Some companies have taken the step to not sell in China so as to stay thru to their Vegan/Cruelty-free label. The skin care products listed are considered vegan in the US. There are slightly different standards for different cruelty-free tags. The Vegan label is pretty specific and goes back to the supplier. A link to those requirements can be found here.
Skincare
The Ordinary, Herbivore, Youth to the People, True Botanicals, and Biossance are already known as being high quality products but their products are also vegan and cruelty free. These are products that have hit mainstream skin care statis with their deal with Sephora and/or very photogenic packaging.
Tatcha is cruelty free and mostly vegan. The products that aren’t vegan contain honey and beeswax. Thanks lip products. Tatcha’s vegan products can be found here.
Clarins launch their My Clarins line earlier this year that is vegan, and everyone knows I love me some Clarins. Although the brand isn’t vega it is cruelty free.
Drunk Elephant is known for its aide to helping the elephants but they aren’t entirely vegan although they are cruelty free. For some of those formulations they do include honey. LiveKindly has a great list of the Drunk Elephant products that are vegan.
Paula’s Choice is although not certified vegan they are cruelty free and do try to source their ingredients using as few animal products as they can. A list of Vegan products can be found here.
Skyn Iceland, which is available at Ulta and Amazon. Founded by Sarah Kugelman, Skyn Iceland focuses on natural remedies to decrease stress and boost the skin’s ability to repair itself. One of my favorite products, especially after a late night, are the Hydro Cool Eye Firming Eye Gels. These gels really are gels. The top feels like fabric, they adhere well, and actually stay in place so I can use them in the bath with all the steam. There is a slight cooling feeling but it isn’t annoying or disturbing especially in that delicate eye area.
Maya Chia including the popular ‘The Refresh Mint Resurfacing Mask‘, which was featured in Glamour as ‘One of the Best Skincare innovations of 2019″ is vegan friendly. Their Waterless Wonder Balm and Pressed Serum Brightening Moisture Concentrate are not vegan as they contain beeswax but the rest of their products are based on my review of the IL