Vegan skincare – why they are so great, and some recipes here

Introduction

Veganism is not just about diet. Vegans avoid using animal products in their life. And that includes skincare products. In this article, we will explain how Vegan Skincare differs from Regular Skincare products.

There are many ingredients in skincare products that are made from animal-derived products. These ingredients include beeswax, honey, collagen, lanolin, keratin, silk, etc. Vegan skincare products are made without animal-derived ingredients. In their production, only plant-based ingredients are used.

So vegans can make sure that they don’t use any animal byproducts in their skincare and cosmetic products.

Animal-derived products in skincare

Many people don’t think that there are animal products used in skincare products. You can not see meat or dairy ingredients in skincare products, for sure. But when you check your skincare products ingredients you will be surprised how many animal ingredients are used in them.
There are many traditional ingredients used in skincare products that are driven by animals.

Here you can check these ingredients:

– Beeswax
– Collagen
– Keratin
– Hyaluronic acid
– Lanolin
– Elastin
– Honey
– Silk
– Squalene
– Stearic Acid

As you can see there are many animals driven ingredients used skincare and cosmetic products industry. For a more detailed list of all animal-derived products used in this industry, you can visit here. For example, Lanolin is a wax derived from the wool of sheep.

They extract this wax by washing sheep’s wool. Lanolin helps skin to retain proper hydration. If you can find Lanolin in any skincare product, it can not be a vegan skincare product.

What is Vegan Skincare

The purpose of vegan skincare is to eliminate the usage of any animal-derived byproducts in skincare products. So in the production of these products they use plant-based ingredients as well as mineral and synthetic ingredients.

These products differ from cruelty-free products that are not made by tests on animals. Vegan skincare products are cruelty-free but all cruelty-free products are not vegan; some of them have animal-derived ingredients in their formula.

Vegan skincare products are better than traditional products for your skin. If you are someone with sensitive skin you can use vegan skincare products without any harsh or damage on your skin. Animal-derived ingredients can be harsh and most of the time they are not proper for sensitive skin.

Vegan Stamps

How to find vegan skincare products? Checking any product’s ingredients is not so easy; you can’t check them one by one to make sure there are no animal-derived ingredients in them. Some independent certification bodies use a “vegan stamp” to introduce vegan skincare products.

These certificate issuers include:

– PETA (offer to kinds of stamps: “cruelty-free” and “vegan”)
– The Vegan Society
– Choose cruelty-free (provides a list of all Australian vegan beauty brands)

By checking these stamps on skincare products you can make sure that they don’t have any animal-derived ingredient. But as you might guess, all-vegan skincare brands don’t use these stamps.

Is vegan skincare good for consumer’s health

Up to 60% of the products we apply on our skin absorb in it. By this account, we can consider how much preservatives, chemicals, and toxins absorb in our skin.

As you might know, the true effects of these products can reveal themselves in the long-term.

These products are packed with minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants which have proved healing effects on human skin. They are made to make sure that they

are cosmetic and skincare equivalents of vegan foods, which is more suitable for human beings.

So, if you’re a vegan who thinks about your diet’s health, you can choose these products for your skin health, too.

Vegan skincare products can reduce your skin damages by eliminating toxic ingredients in the production formula. These products also can help you make sure that the results could be approved over the long term.

Since vegan skincare products lack any chemical or animal-derived ingredient, they don’t have short term effects of these chemical products. But in the long term, they are better than traditional skincare products which are made by chemical and animal-derived products.

Vegan skincare is suitable for all skin types

Many preservatives, synthetic colorants, petroleum and other materials used in non-vegan or traditional skincare can cause minor and major skin damages.

In contrast with these products, vegan skincare products are packed with plant-based ingredients that are healthy for our skin.

So theoretically these products are more suitable for our skin.

They don’t have long term damage and side effects of their chemical equivalents.

This makes them more desirable even if their prices are a little bit more expensive than traditional skincare products. 

Vegan skincare helps the environment

Using animal-derived products affects not only the animals but also the earth’s resources. There are many steps in the production of animal-derived products which are not good for our environment.

Feeding and cultivating farmed animals, their killing, processing, transporting, and storing their bodies need so much energy.

This process also releases so much more amounts of greenhouse gases such as methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide into the environment. 

  

Vegan skincare production, on the other hand, needs less energy, less land, and less water. So by removing animal-derived skincare products from our skin, we can reduce humanity’s impacts on the environment.

 

Another feature of these products lies in their packages. Many of these products use recycling materials for their packages. Hence these products are not harmful to nature even after their usage. 

What are animal-derived ingredients for vegans to avoid

Some animal-derived ingredients are used extensively in skincare and cosmetic industry that you can’t even imagine. Here we collected some of the most common animal-derived products found in this industry.

Hyaluronic acid

Hyaluronic acid is one of the most common ingredients used in skincare and cosmetic industry. It can hold up to 1.000 times its weight in water. It is used for its power to hydrate and plump skin in skincare.

What is not amazing about this ingredient is that it commonly derived from rooster combs. As you know a rooster comb is a brownish-red crown that mounts the head of a rooster. There are some alternative procedures to manufacture this ingredient via fermentation, which is not an animal-derived manner.

If you see Hyaluronic acid in your skincare, you can ask questions about its source from the brand’s customer service team.

Bee products

Bees manufacture many products used in skincare and cosmetics. Some of the most common products of this kind include:

– Beeswax
– Honey
– Propolis
– Royal jelly

Fortunately, these ingredients have many plant-based alternatives.

Animal-derived oils and fats

Many moisturizers, night creams, and lotion contain oils. Their nature is just like the nature of skin, which makes them greatly compatible with human skin. Just like human skin that is protected by natural oils, several animals’ skins have similar conditions.

But to manufacture animal oils does not stop at the skin. Sometimes vital organs are used to extract oils.

You can take a look at some of the most common oils in the skincare industry in the below list:

– Squalene: an animal-derived oil from shark liver
– Tallow: animal fat that is used to produce soap and skincare items
– Emu Oil
– Mink Oil
– Musk Oil

Some of these oils can come from plant-based resources.

Keratin

Keratin is a protein that lies heavily in human hair and skin. Keratin is used in shampoos and other skincare products to replenish hair’s natural reserves. The keratin that would be found in skincare products is often derived from the hooves, quills, and hair of animals.

Silk powder

Silk is an ingredient that you can often find in skincare products. It is used to provide color, lubricity, and oil absorbency. The process of manufacturing silk is somehow shocking. Silkworms in their cocoons are dissolved in boiled water to make silk fibers.

Vegan skincare products

Now that we have an idea about what a vegan skincare product is, we can start more discussions about these products. Vegan skincare products, as you know, are made by plant-based ingredients.

Some of these products have a simple formula. You can order these products from vegan skincare brands, or make them according to the recipe at home.

So if you want to make sure that your skincare product is vegan and healthy, there is no need to pay for expensive brand products.

In the following, you can find some recipes to make vegan face mask skincare recipes. What is fantastic about this list is that these vegan face masks are suitable for all skin types

1. Agar-Agar Peel Off mask

If you need a face mask to make your face skin glowing, this recipe is a great choice. To make this recipe you need:

– 1 teaspoon agar powder

– 1 capsule of activated charcoal

– Half cup of water

Instruction

– First, boil the water

– Mix agar agar powder with boiled water

– Now add an activated charcoal capsule to the recipe and mix it

– After cooling down you can apply this mask all over your face. Don’t use it on the area around your eyes

– Peel it off

– You can use a moisturizer for better results

2. Flaxseed Face Mask

This mask makes your skin look tighter. It helps your skin to find its natural tone. Homemade recipe of this vegan face mask skincare needs these ingredients:

 

– 1 tablespoon flax seeds

– 3 tablespoons of water

Instruction

– Mix water and flax seeds in a glass container 

– Stir the recipe well. Let it be soaked for 10-15 minutes

– After this, the recipe should attain a consistency like egg white. Now stir it well again

– Spread the mask on your face by a cosmetic brush. Don’t use it on the areas around your eyes

– Wait for it to become completely dry. Then wash it with warm water. After that wash your face with cold water

– You can use a moisturizer for better results

3. Chocolate facial pudding

Avocado is a great fruit with so many good effects on your health. This mask moisturizes and cleanses your face skin. Cocoa powder is also another great ingredient to protect the skin. To make this pudding mask you need the following ingredients:

– 1 avocado

– 2 teaspoons of cocoa powder (unsweetened)

– 1 teaspoon of agave nectar

Instruction

– Use a mixer to mix avocado

– Boil it to make it smooth

– Add cocoa powder and mix it well

– Add agave nectar

– After cooling down, apply it to your face and neck

– Wait roughly for 10 minutes then wash your skin with warm water

4. Cucumber face mask

This traditional mask is used to refresh your skin. It has a great smell that you enjoy when it is on your face skin. To make this mask you need these materials:

– 1/2 cucumber

– 1/2 lemon 

– 3 mint leaves

Instruction

– Use a mixer to grate the cucumber 

– Pour grated cucumber to a glass container 

– Mix mint leaves well in grated cucumber 

– Now add lemon juice to your mix

– Mix all ingredients well

– Apply this mixture to your face skin 

– It’s a cooling mask and when using it you can feel that

– Let it be dried for 20 minutes 

– Now you can wash your facial skin with cold water

5. Strawberry Mask

Another great ingredient used in vegan skin care is strawberry. Strawberries have salicylic acid which is great to break dead skin cells. In this recipe, we use coconut oil to moisturize face skin. This mask is helpful to prevent acne. It’s also very good for oily skins. To make this mask in home, you need:

– 4 strawberries 

– 1 teaspoon coconut oil

– 1/4 teaspoon white kaolin clay

Instruction

– Mix strawberries to make a smooth mix of them

– Add coconut oil to the recipe

– Add kaolin clay 

– Stir them well to make a smooth paste

– Apply the mask to your face and neck skin

– Let it be dried for 15-20 minutes

– Wash your face with cool water 

6. Avocado and banana face mask

This mask is great for your face skin hydration. Both of these ingredients affect your skin hydration. It is an easy-to-make recipe for vegan skincare. For making this healthy you need these ingredients:

– 2 tablespoons mashed avocado

– 1 tablespoon mashed banana

– 1 teaspoon jojoba oil

– 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Instruction

– Combine and mix all ingredients in a glass bowl

– Apply the mixture to your face skin

– Let it dry for 20 minutes

– Wash your face with cold water

– You can use a moisturizer for better results

7. Clay and tea tree oil face mask

This vegan skincare helps your skin to fight acne. As we mentioned above, clay has some great effects on your skin. With this recipe, you can make a great anti-acne mask in-home at minutes. To make this vegan skincare mask you need:

– 1 tablespoon bentonite clay

– 2 tablespoons water

– 1 tablespoon ground oats

– 4 drops tea tree essential oil

Instruction

– Mix clay and oats in a glass bowl

– Add enough water to the mixture to make a paste

– Add tea tree oil and mix it well

– Apply this mask to your face skin

– Let it dry for 20 minutes 

– When the mask is dry, use a washcloth to clean it

– Wash your face with hot water. Then wash it with cold water

– You can use a moisturizer for better results

8. Vegan charcoal mask

This is another great vegan face mask that is helpful for thorough cleansing of your skin. Its herbal plant-based ingredients make your face skin to be glowing and cleanse. To make this vegan skincare face mask in the home you need:

– 1 tablespoon activated charcoal powder

– 1 tablespoon aloe vera gel

– 5 drops of tea tree essential oil

Instruction

– Mix the activated charcoal powder and aloe vera gel in a glass bowl

– Mix tea tree essential oil to the recipe to form a paste

– Apply the mixture to your face skin

– Let it dry for 20 minutes

– Wash your face warm water then wash it with cold water

– You can use a moisturizer for better results

9. Yogurt and Oats face mask

Don’t be surprised with Yogurt in this vegan skin care face mask. You should use Soy Yogurt in this recipe, which is very helpful in hydrating your face skin. To make this great hydrating face mask you need the following ingredients:

– 1/2 cup rolled oat

– 1/4 cup soy yogurt

– 7 blueberries

Instruction

– Mix and blend oats for a few minutes

– Transfer it to a glass container

– Add yogurt to the recipe

– Mash blueberries well and add it to the mixture

– Mix it very well and apply to your face and neck skin

– At least wait 20 minutes to dry the mask

– Now rinse with water 

10. Cocoa, Coffee, and Oatmeal

In this last recipe, coffee plays an important role. This mask has a great effect on your face which you love it. By using this recipe, you can rejuvenate your face skin. It is effective and to make it you just need:

– 1 tablespoon ground coffee beans

– 1 tablespoon cocoa powder

– 1 tablespoon ground oatmeal

– Coconut milk (enough for making a paste)

Instruction

– Mix all ingredients in a glass bowl

– Add coconut milk to the bowl. Add enough to give it a consistency like paste

– Apply the mask to your face skin

– let it dry at least for 20 minutes

– wash your face skin with warm water

– You can use a moisturizer for better results

Last Words

Vegan skincare is equivalent to vegan diets in approaching an ethical manner in consumer behaviors. It does not have a long history. It’s one of the recent trends in the skincare industry that appears after that vegan diets are commonly accepted.

The main measure to define a skincare product as vegan skincare is that in its production there are no animal-derived or chemical ingredients. This makes them healthier for almost all various types of skins.

They have a better impact on the skin in the long term. In their production, no preservatives are used that can cause skin damages in the long term. It is a suitable way to make skin healthier. It’s also a way to help the environment with less production of greenhouse gases.

After introducing vegan skincare in this article, we tried to offer some great recipes to make vegan face masks. These masks are plant-based, organic, and herbal. What makes them great is that you don’t need any special instrument or ingredient to make them.

So we can say they are true homemade vegan skincare face masks. Making and using these homemade masks help you to have a glowing, tight, and clear facial skin.

Finally, you should also note that for using skin care products and getting the best results from them, it’s better to use the right products from the authenticate producers.

Are vegan products better for your skin?

The truth is, without animal ingredients, vegan products are actually better for your skin, especially if you're someone with sensitive or condition-prone skin. Animal ingredients can be harsh and clog pores, so vegan products are a soothing alternative. ... Your skin will thrive off being fed natural, vegan ingredients.

What makes skin care vegan?

In general, vegans follow a diet free of meat and animal byproducts such as milk or cheese. Much like these dietary restrictions, vegan skin care also forgoes animal-derived ingredients when formulating products. “By definition, vegan skin care products are not produced from an animal or an animal byproduct.

Does Vegan Mean chemical free?

The only difference is that vegan cosmetics do not contain substances of animal origin. Plant-based Cosmetics: These products contain a percentage of ingredients that are of plant origin, for example extracts, oils or highly processed substances obtained from raw plant materials.