As more and more people are embracing a vegan lifestyle, beauty brands have noticed the demand for vegan products too. Which is great for us! Because if you’re on a vegan diet, why not make your beauty cabinet vegan too? A bonus is that vegan beauty products often are gentler and safer all around. Not only leaving out animal products, but also toxic chemicals, parabens, gluten-containing products, and heavy metals. Want to know more about vegan skincare, hair care and makeup, and where to the best vegan beauty products in Amsterdam? Keep on reading!

Vegan skincare

Regular skincare products often contain animal-derived ingredients like beeswax, carmine (a red colour from crushed cochineal insects), honey, lanolin (the grease from sheep’s wool), and collagen (derived from animal tissue, bone, skin, or ligaments). And our skin absorbs up to 60% of the products we apply to it, so it’s almost the same as eating it.

People that are new to vegan skincare often wonder if it’s as effective as non-vegan products. But the truth is, vegan products are actually better for your skin! Animal-derived ingredients can be harsh and clog pores. Vegan products are a soothing alternative. Especially if you have sensitive skin. Besides that, plant-derived ingredients often contain more vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. You feel healthier eating foods in their natural state, right? Well, the same goes for your skin.

There are a lot of very good skincare brands and products that are free from animal ingredients. And that range is growing! We’ll name a few:

• Drugstore Kruidvat has a complete line of natural facial care and cleansing products, called Natures. It consists of three lines of skincare products:
• Hydrating for younger skin
• Anti-age for aging skin
• Sensitive for sensitive skin
• Lovely Day is a natural cosmetics company from Berlin. Their mission is to prove that words such as natural, vegan, and sustainable don’t mean you have to sacrifice the performance of a product. The products have cute names like ‘Mermaid’ and ‘Glow Juice’, and are packed in glass bottles that look pretty on your shelf too.
• Sukin originally is from Australia, but a large part of the collection is now also available in the Netherlands – at Holland & Barrett for example. Sukin’s founders wanted to launch a care brand that is natural, eco-friendly and affordable for everyone. Their motto is: “skincare that doesn’t cost the earth”. The products don’t contain SLS, synthetic fragrances, parabens. Instead, they contain ingredients like rose hip, aloe vera, jojoba, avocado, cocoa and shea butter. All products are 100% biodegradable and the packaging is 100% recyclable.
• The Ordinary skincare products are made with no chemical unpleasantries, making them free from parabens, mineral oils, and sulphates. The main principle behind the brand is “Clinical formulations with integrity.” The clinical looking packaging and names can be a little intimidating, but their products actually are concentrated versions of common ingredients that can be found in other beauty items. So you’re not paying for the ‘extra’ ingredients that bulk out most products from other brands. The Ordinary is very affordable and the majority of their products is vegan.

Vegan hair care

A lot of shampoos, conditioners and styling products contain animal-derived ingredients. Keratin for example, has been called the perfect way to get smooth and shiny hair. But keratin is an animal protein that occurs in the skin, beak and feathers of animals. A few other common ingredients that you want to avoid are amino acids, beeswax, collagen, elastin and lanolin.

So, upgrading your traditional products to vegan haircare can have many perks. Most importantly, they’re not tested on animals and no animal ingredients are used. That’s better for animals, but also for people. Because as we mentioned before, vegan products contain fewer and less harsh ingredients. In addition, brands that choose to go vegan in their products also tend to choose more environmentally friendly alternatives in their packaging.

More and more beauty brands are launching vegan hair products, or even making the switch to 100% vegan. To name a few:

• Love Beauty and Planet: all their products are independently certified Cruelty-Free and Vegan by PETA. They choose plant actives like coconut oil to work in harmony with their other vegan certified ingredients. Also, the bottles they use are made of 100% recyclable plastic.
• L’Oreal: Source Essentielle is a vegan hair care range. The products have between 80-99% natural origin ingredients; from shampoos to styling products. They’re also free from silicone, sulphates, parabens and synthetic fragrances.
• Redken: the Nature + Sience line is a vegan hair care range, with mostly natural ingredients. The shampoos are made with 83% naturally derived ingredients, and the conditioners with 99%. The packaging is made from 100% recycled plastic.

Want to know more about vegan hair care? Read Kurlify’s article about vegan haircare for curls. As far as we’re concerned, their tips apply to any hair type!

Vegan makeup

Regular makeup products use animal byproducts and various chemicals in their formulas. This isn’t the case for vegan makeup. Just like vegan skin and hair care, vegan makeup is gentler and safer than regular products, leaving out toxic chemicals, heavy metals, and other harmful substances – besides animal-derived ingredients.

So, what must-have vegan makeup brands should be on your beauty shopping list? These brands are for sale in Amsterdam:

• Elf Cosmetics
• HEMA B.A.E.
• Lime Crime
• Milk Make-Up
• Urban Decay

Besides that, Charlotte Tilbury, Kat von D, Lush, and Tarte all have vegan departments.

Something else to think about, are makeup brushes. Traditional ones are made from animal hair, for example from squirrels, horses and mink. Luckily there are also synthetic brushes available. And if you prefer to work with sponges, Beauty Blender is a good alternative.

Where to find vegan beauty products in Amsterdam?

So now you know what vegan beauty products to use, but where can you find them in Amsterdam? We listed a few options:

• HEMA offers a vegan makeup range, called B.A.E. (Before Anything Else). This range consists of 138 innovative products, in six different categories; face, eyes, brows, lips, accessories and Eau de Toilette. They’re all affordable, on trend and 100% vegan.
• Holland & Barrett is a chain of health stores, former named De Tuinen. They offer a variety of cosmetics, vitamins and supplements, and food. They sell brands like Dr. Organic, Sukin and Weleda.
• Lush is a vegetarian company with approximately 80% vegan products, from facemasks to facial oils. The vegan products are all clearly marked, so you can make an informed choice about the products you use.
• The Body Shop offers around half of their products are vegan. For example, the Shea Butter Richly Replenishing Shampoo and Ginger Scalp Care Conditioner are entirely formulated without animal-derived products.
• Vega-Life is a cozy and beautiful shop in the centre of the city, on Singel. Their motto is to stop making concessions and use only products that don’t imply animal suffering and were made by people working in good conditions. They sell vegan and vegetarian clothing, shoes, bags, and cosmetics.

Don’t forget to check the labels! The quickest way to ensure beauty products are vegan, is to look at the label – just like you do with food. Often there is a label that says ‘Vegan’, ‘Suitable For Vegans’ or a ‘Certified Vegan’ logo.