By: Irene Ciocirlan

Read the fine print before buying your favorite cosmetic products.

For many people, doing makeup in the morning is a daily routine. However, it’s become common for makeup brands to perform harmful tests on animals in labs – without us knowing about it. This is because where and how they made that makeup product is covertly hidden in the fine print. These are companies that are not considered “cruelty-free” and should be boycotted for their painful tests on animals. Tests on animals could cause them to get burned, shocked, poisoned, starved, addicted to drugs, and brain damaged. If this isn’t enough to make you want to stop buying makeup products from companies that aren’t cruelty-free, then read on.

What does it mean to be cruelty-free? According to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), a company is certified cruelty-free if they provide a statement that they do not conduct or commission any animal testing and will not do so in the future. If you are not sure if a company is cruelty-free, look for a picture of a bunny or other animal on the label with the statement “this product was not tested on animals.”

However, some companies might trick you into thinking that they are cruelty-free. On their label, they might say, “We do not test on animals nor do we permit others to do so except where it is required by law.” This was written in the FAQ section of Benefit’s website, a popular makeup brand known for its expensive but nice makeup. That “except” was their loophole for saying that they actually do test on animals. PETA reported that many of their products are made in China, where the government requires brands to test on animals before selling their products.

Animal testing is extremely painful and unjust. Each year, more than 100 million animals are killed in labs. According to the Humane Society, “several tests are commonly performed by exposing mice, rats, rabbits, and guinea pigs to harmful chemicals in cosmetic products.” Some of these tests include skin and eye irritation tests without any pain relief and repeated force-feeding. At the end of the tests, the animals are killed – and not always painlessly. A 2009 survey at Newcastle University reported that mice and rats that endured extremely painful procedures were provided with post-procedure pain relief only twenty percent of the time. This needs to change.

“The world doesn’t need another eyeliner, hand soap, food ingredient, or pesticide so badly that it should come at the expense of animals’ lives,” said PETA.

You might be asking yourself, how do cruelty-free companies test their products to make sure they are safe to use? The Humane Society said that to ensure complete safety, companies can use ingredients that are already evaluated for safety, such as honeycomb, keratin oil, and any amino or fatty acids. These ingredients have definitely already been tested for decades and don’t require new tests. Secondly, if companies were to perform tests, they are able to choose from the many alternative tests available. An example is 3D human skin models, which can fully replace the use of rabbits for skin irritation testing. Not only are these alternatives beneficial for protecting animal rights, they are also more efficient and cost effective. “Advanced non-animal tests represent the very latest techniques that science has to offer, replacing outdated animal tests that were developed decades ago,” said the Humane Society.

For people interested in purchasing cruelty-free makeup, PETA has a list on its site of many great companies. Some of these include Urban Decay, E.L.F. Cosmetics, NYX, and Lush. Lush has been passionately against animal testing for over 30 years, according to their website. Not only do they not conduct or commission animal testing, they also use fresh and safe ingredients that are healthier for your skin.

There are many ways people can advocate for the fight against animal testing. To name a few, you can vow to never buy products from companies that test on animals, sign petitions, or even just look carefully on the label. You can also help save thousands of animals’ lives by signing PETA’s Pledge to Be Cruelty-Free, which can be found here.

“Fighting animal testing should be more than a slogan; it needs to be a genuine practice.” said Lush.