Cruelty-Free Is Not Enough

Cruelty-free does not mean vegan. Stop paying for companies to mutilate and kill innocent animals for makeup.

Susie Pinon
Tenderly
Published in
5 min readAug 13, 2020

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Image created by Susie Pinon on Canva

It wasn’t until I had already started eating a plant-based diet that I was even introduced to the idea of vegan cosmetics and makeup products. I had always thought that “vegan” and “cruelty-free” were interchangeable, which isn’t true.

I am — slowly but surely! — transitioning all of my makeup and personal care products over to being both vegan and cruelty-free. It has been a long process since I was always one to hoard tubes of face masks, fancy exfoliators, and bottles of foundation to serve me through different seasons and different skin tones.

To throw out old products would be wasteful, and the damage has already been done, so I’m focused on using what I have and replacing those products with items that are actually kind to animals. If you want to do the same, here’s what I have learned.

What Does Cruelty-Free Mean?

When you see that cute little jumping bunny on your favorite product, you can be sure that it is certified cruelty-free. This means that none of the ingredients or the final product have been tested on animals for any reason.

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Susie Pinon
Tenderly

If I’m not typing, I’m at the beach, eating chocolate, yoga-ing, or watching my soaps. Here to help you grow into your best self without making it hurt.😉