The best vegan skincare brands of 2019

Writer and expert6 years ago

As we amp up our animal-friendly beauty collection, it's time to turn our focus to skincare. With formulations completely free of all animal byproducts, these are the best vegan skincare brands to have on your radar.

WHAT IS VEGAN SKINCARE?

Exactly the same as we've listed in our vegan makeup roundup, vegan skincare does not include any ingredient that is derived from an animal or any animal ingredient.

Typical ingredients that aren’t vegan-friendly to look out for, but by no means exhaustive, are:

Honey
Beeswax
Lanolin
Collagen
Albumen
Carmine
Cholesterol
Gelatin

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN “VEGAN” AND “CRUELTY-FREE” MAKEUP?

Vegan skincare does not include any ingredients that are derived from animals, whereas cruelty-free skincare is not tested on animals. These are not exclusive of one another. For example, a cruelty-free product may include animal-derived products such as honey, whereas a vegan product may have been tested on animals.

For more information, read our blog post answering what is cruelty-free?

HOW DO I KNOW IF I’M BUYING VEGAN MAKEUP?

Most vegan skincare brands will be certified by the following animal welfare brands, so keep an eye out for their symbols on the packaging:

We’ll make sure to keep this list updated, as and when changes happen.

Best Vegan Skincare Brands

Alchimie Forever

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bqu-_tonhQz/

Swiss skincare brand Alchimie Forever control the entire production chain, from creation and ingredient sourcing right through to production, so can confidently state that every single product contain no animal byproducts.

Certified by: NA

Best vegan skincare products:

Bakel

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bkm-94ghYYh/?taken-by=bakelskincare

Italy isn't just good for pizza and pasta, we're obsessed with their vegan skincare offering too. Yes, we know it's not makeup, but gal's gonna want clear skin to apply her makeup to, and a clear conscience.

Certified by: PETA

Best vegan skincare products:

Balance Me

https://www.instagram.com/p/BsLaoE9Dyzy/

Although a few products by Balance me have beeswax and/or lanolin as ingredients, they are actively trying to keep animal byproducts to a minimum. The only products not suitable for vegans are Super Moisturising Hand Cream, Rose Otto Hand Cream, Stellar Beauty Balm and Cleanse and Smooth Face Balm

Certified by: NA

Best vegan skincare products:

Dr. PAWPAW

https://www.instagram.com/p/BkQsTRegKUw/?taken-by=dr.pawpaw

Lookin' for a lip balm that moisturises without the guilt? Then Dr. Pawpaw has gotta' be your go-to. We're actually obsessed with this formulation, and find it works great as a cuticle balm too if you have any leftover.

Certified by: PETA

Best vegan skincare products:

Ecooking

https://www.instagram.com/p/Brz3HS5A23K/

With exception of the Multi Balm and Lip Balm, Ecooking is a 100% vegan skincare brand, developed by Tina Søgaard, in Denmark.

Certified by: NA

Best vegan skincare products:

First Aid Beauty

https://www.instagram.com/p/BrTv99Bhi1d/

American skincare brand First Aid Beauty isn't exclusively vegan, however their entirely cruelty-free range features a wide selection of vegan skincare products - be sure to check the product description to know for sure.

Certified by: NA

Best vegan skincare products:

Continue Reading: our guide to First Aid Beauty products

Frank Body

https://www.instagram.com/p/BsY32tGB-0m/

Australian skincare brand Frank Body's original coffee scrubs are vegan, however the Lip Balm includes ethically sourced Lanolin, so keep an eye out for non-vegan friendly individual products.

Certified by: NA

Best vegan skincare products:

Continue Reading: our guide to Frank Body products

Gallinée Beauty

https://www.instagram.com/p/BsRGZcAAEv5/

Microbiome-focussed brand Gallinée is completely free of animal byproducts, so you can rest assured that this is one of the best vegan skincare brands, whatever you purchase.

Certified by: NA

Best vegan skincare products:

HealGel

https://www.instagram.com/p/BjCzTTHBXF4/?taken-by=healgel

Absolutely killin' it in the skincare game, HealGel products are the perf' addition to your vegan skincare collection.

Certified by: PETA

Best vegan skincare products:

Madara

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bq9cKMWlOCj/

Some of Madara's skincare products contain beeswax or lanolin, so keep an eye on the label to make sure that your products don't contain this, however the rest of the range is vegan.

The beeswax and lanolin used is sourced ethically, in-line with their ECOCERT rating - check out out blog post on cosmetics packaging symbols for more info.

Certified by: NA

Best vegan skincare products:

NIOD

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bjv9kgwASBk/

Deciem brand NIOD, just like the Ordinary, is a mostly vegan skincare brand. The entire range isn't completely free of animal byproducts, so again be sure to check labels.

Certified by: NA

Best vegan skincare products:

Pai

https://www.instagram.com/p/BsOJkSVB1z1/

Every single PAI product is certified vegan by the Vegan Society, so feel free to add-to-bag.

Certified by: Vegan Society

Best vegan skincare products:

REN Skincare

https://www.instagram.com/p/BsVd4I7HZUq/

Again, not every single REN Skincare product is vegan, however a wide range of their products are vegan-friendly.

Certified by: NA

Best vegan skincare products:

The Ordinary

https://www.instagram.com/p/BsI2KNtn4jn/

As with NIOD, not all Deciem products - including the Ordinary - are vegan-friendly, even if a high proportion of their stock is. Keep an eye on the label, where it'll clearly be stated.

Certified by: NA

Best vegan skincare products:

Continue Reading: our guide to The Ordinary products