VEGAN SKINCARE

IT IS THE ONLY ONE OF THE FOUR WHERE THE QUESTION ARISES. IT USED TO BE EXTRACTED FROM ROOSTER COMBS. TODAY THE INDUSTRY PRODUCES IT BY BACTERIAL FERMENTATION, WITH NO ANIMAL INPUT — THAT IS THE ONE WE USE. ZINC IS A MINERAL. NIACINAMIDE AND VITAMIN C ARE MADE BY SYNTHESIS.

TWO DIFFERENT PROMISES, ENDLESSLY CONFUSED. VEGAN IS ABOUT COMPOSITION: NO ANIMAL-DERIVED INGREDIENT. CRUELTY-FREE IS ABOUT TESTING. IN THE EUROPEAN UNION, TESTING A COSMETIC OR ITS INGREDIENTS ON ANIMALS HAS BEEN BANNED SINCE 2013: ON THIS MARKET, THE CLAIM NO LONGER SETS ANYONE APART.

RARELY IN THE ACTIVE, ALMOST ALWAYS IN THE OTHER 95 %. GLYCERIN, STEARIC ACID, BEESWAX, LANOLIN, CARMINE: INGREDIENTS WHOSE ORIGIN DEPENDS ON THE SUPPLIER AND CANNOT BE READ OFF THE LABEL. A CREAM WITH THIRTY-FOUR INGREDIENTS TAKES THIRTY-FOUR CHECKS. FOUR PURE ACTIVES TAKE FOUR.

VEGAN DOES NOT MEAN BETTER FOR YOUR SKIN. A PLANT-DERIVED INGREDIENT CAN BE IRRITATING, ALLERGENIC, OR BOTH — ESSENTIAL OILS BEING THE COMMONEST EXAMPLE. NOR DOES IT MEAN NATURAL: THE NIACINAMIDE AND VITAMIN C IN THIS RANGE ARE MADE BY SYNTHESIS, WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT GUARANTEES THEIR PURITY. IT IS A PROMISE ABOUT WHERE INGREDIENTS COME FROM, NOT A CERTIFICATE OF TOLERANCE.