Cruelty-Free Skin Care - The Truth Behind the Big Brands

You’d think that most major companies would have started making cruelty-free skin care and cosmetics, but unfortunately, that isn’t the case. Some of today's biggest beauty brands, including M.A.C., Maybelline, L’Oreal, Aveeno, Kiehls, Dove, and Estee Lauder, still test on animals.

An estimated 100,000 to 200,000 bunnies, guinea pigs, mice, and rats are used for testing every year around the world, all in the name of cosmetics. They go through painful and torturous experiments (imagine getting chemicals rubbed onto shaved skin or dripped into eyes without any pain relief) and many die in the process.

Animal testing for drugs and cosmetics exist because of the need to establish the safety of a product or ingredient for public health before allowing it on the market. But here's the thing - animal testing for cosmetics isn't even required by law. In fact, results from animal testing do not directly prove safety for humans,, and there are alternative testing methods such as testing on microorganisms, cells, tissues, and even volunteering humans, that are more humane and literally safer for humans.

Buy cruelty-free organic skin care and cosmetics

Cruelty-free products are manufactured or developed using methods that do not involve experimentation on animals. This means everything - including the ingredients and the finished product - did not harm an animal.

Organic skin care products are almost always cruelty-free because they are made out of ingredients that are derived from plants or that are naturally occurring. More importantly, these organic ingredients are grown without the use of harmful chemicals such as pesticides, herbicides, synthetic fertilizers, or genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Because organic skin care products do not contain these chemicals, and because organic skin care products are derived from natural, organic ingredients, their contents are easily recognized and can almost always be deemed as safe for humans. And because they are safe for humans, there is really no need for animal testing at all.

The reason we’re not stating that organic products are always cruelty-free is because there is no way to guarantee that as a fact. There may be companies that produce organic products but still put its ingredients or the finished product through animal testing for a variety of reasons, including “as required by law” to be imported into specific countries such as China. Therefore it’s always safe to check the product label and check the company website to find more information about whether or not the product is truly 100% cruelty-free.

What we can guarantee you at Be Well is that all our products are organic, natural, and 100% cruelty-free. All of the ingredients that we use are chemical-free, toxic-free, paraben-free, and fragrance-free, and all of the finished products that we create have never ever been used in animal testing. You can read what We Believe here.

As consumers, we can make a difference by paying attention to what we purchase. Be conscious about what you buy, and support cruelty-free skin care and cosmetics to take a stand against unnecessary and inhumane animal testing.