To sum it up, the vegan movement is huge, serious, and going nowhere. Over the last few years it's gone from strength to strength, carving its space as a lifestyle, health, and fitness trend as well as a political movement centred around environmentalism and animal welfare. With beginnings in the world of diet and nutrition, vegan products are starting to crop up in every corner of the market, including beauty, skincare, and grooming. In this blog post, we take you through how to go vegan from a men's grooming perspective. Check out the basics of vegan skincare and grooming.
Why Vegan Skincare and Grooming
There are many reasons that people choose to go vegan. In its infancy, animal welfare was the primary concern of those who were proponents of the movement, but it's becoming increasingly common for people to adopt veganism for environmental reasons too. Livestock is mainly reared to provide food, but animal products often make their way into our clothes, toiletries and other common household items. Switching to vegan products where possible is a fantastic way to reduce your impact on the environment, as well as dependence on animal exploitation.
How to go Vegan: Grooming Products
Ditching all products with animal derived ingredients may seem like a tall order to some, but we can assure you, in the vast majority of instances, there is a more than suitable alternative on the market. Eliminating all the non-vegan products in your grooming routine, and replacing them with a vegan friendly counterpart is simply a matter of research and organisation.
For most guys, writing down a list of all the products you regularly use is over the course of your average month is a five minute job. People who are into cosmetics might find the task getting slightly more complicated, but all in all, this process shouldn't be a huge time investment. Once you have your essentials noted down, checking online to see whether it is vegan is straightforward enough. Most brands will state on their FAQs page whether they use animal products, and if it's unclear from this, vegan products are usually clearly labelled as such.
Checking the listed ingredients to make absolutely certain is useful, but can be something of a minefield to navigate. The list of animal derived products found in skincare is long and complex. Below are some key non-vegan ingredients you may want to watch out for, and there are plenty more resources on animal derived beauty ingredients elsewhere online.
Non Vegan Beauty Ingredients
- AHAs/Alphahydroxy acids
- Beeswax
- Carotene
- Collagen
- Glycerin
- Hyaluronic Acid
- Keratin
- Lactic Acid
- Lanolin
- Oleic Acid
- Silk
- Squalene
- Urea
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin B12
Vegan Grooming and Skincare Products
Once you've identified what you're certain you'll need, you will more than likely have some replacing to do. Luckily for you, the range of vegan-friendly skin, hair, and beard products on the market has never been more diverse and exciting. Read more about the products on offer below.
Vegan Skincare for Men
While all-natural vegan face washes, moisturisers, serums, and more have been around for decades, the breadth of products on offer today means that even those with sensitive skin can easily find vegan products that will work for them. One of our particular favourites is the innovative 100% Plant-Derived Squalane from the fully vegan brand The Ordinary, which effectively replicates squalene, a common skincare ingredient derived from shark.
Vegan Haircare
Haircare is a field that depends heavily on animal products, with beeswax, lanonlin, and other ingredients being extremely commonplace. Steps are being made however, with products such as the Hanz De Fuko Anti-Fade Shampoo and Lock Stock & Barrel 85 Karats Grooming Clay leading the way for other brands to eventually follow suit.
Vegan Male Grooming
Brands like Jack Black and Man Cave are predominantly vegan, and committed to reducing their use of animal products wherever possible, while other brands such as Bulldog deserve praise for being entirely vegan. For this reason, it's never been easier to pick out grooming essentials that are vegan friendly.
-If you like this content why not check out our favourite Vegan Products on Mankind and our guide to building a skincare routine with the vegan brand Bulldog.Skin | Hair | Beard | Shave | Body
