Are Your Beauty Products Tested on Animals?

Guinea Pigs

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A fellow Spa editor recently told me that my favorite face wash is tested on animals. As someone who owns two darling guinea pigs (Olivia and Chloe, above), I felt sick—it made me realize that I need to be doing better research into what brands I use.

I did a little poking around on Caring Consumer and found that my medicine cabinet is home to a host of other culprits, too, such as my deodorant and sunscreen. The idea of reviewing every product I use is a bit daunting, but I know it’s worth it.

*** Update: 7/02/2010 3:30 pm ***

When you're shopping, one surefire way to know you're getting products that are not tested on animals is to look for the "Certified Vegan" label. This logo guarantees that the product does not contain animal products and has not been tested on animals.

In fact, we've covered a number of brands that do not test on animals.

Here are just a few:

Body Bistro: Bases its certified-vegan, results-oriented skincare on Ayurveda. 

DoshaCare: Sources fair trade, natural, and certified-vegan ingredients for its line, which is based on Ayurveda.

Sophyto Organics: Makes fair trade, certified-organic, and vegan products in a pharmaceutical-grade lab in England.

Von Natur: Features bath salts, skincare, and makeup that are paraben-free and vegan.

Tara Skin Therapy: Bases its skincare collection on Ayurvedic principles and never tests on animals.

Kimberly Parry Organics: Makes fresh-to-order products that are free of animal products and never tested on animals.

Amala: Sources ingredients from fair trade farmers and never tests products on animals.

Naturopathica: Creates artisanal beauty products that are never tested on animals.

If eco-friendly beauty products are what you're looking for, see our roundup of brands that are good for you and the planet.