What Does Vegan Beauty Really Mean?

 

From food to makeup, ingredients are an increasingly important factor in deciding what we put in or on our bodies. As a pioneer in nontoxic nail care, we at Dazzle Dry could not be more thrilled about this new wave of health- and eco-conscious consumers. But with all these new “green beauty” labels, it’s easy for shoppers to get confused.

 

That’s why we’re clearing the air on one of the hottest buzzwords in beauty right now: vegan.

 

Contrary to what some might think, “vegan” does not necessarily imply that a product is healthy, safe or even cruelty-free (no animal testing). It simply means that the ingredients do not include any animal byproducts.

 

This is why, in addition to being labeled vegan, Dazzle Dry is also listed as cruelty-free, hypoallergenic and nontoxic; which, in the nail care industry, is a BIG deal.

Dazzle Dry Differentiators

In fact, here are just some of the ways the entire Dazzle Dry line differs from other, non-vegan, nail care lines:

 

• Carmine – Obtained by crushing cochineal beetles, carmine is used to produce a vibrant red pigment for certain nail polishes as well as some food products. Dazzle Dry, however, uses other FDC-certified (synthetic and natural) pigments instead of carmine to make our nail lacquers.
• Guanine – Guanine is a popular shimmery pigment derived from fish scales. To avoid this, Dazzle Dry uses mica, synthetic mica (fluorphlogopite) and synthetic glass (borosilicates) produced with FDC-certified pigments to create our shimmers.
• Urea – While urea can be derived from animal urine, it is more common these days for companies to use it in its synthetic form. Dazzle Dry uses synthetic urea produced through a chemical process using ammonia and carbon dioxide.
• Stearic acid – Nail polishes contain a synthetically modified clay as thixotropic agent, an ingredient which allows the polish to maintain a high viscosity at rest to keep the pigments suspended. The modifier of these clays is stearalkonium chloride, which is derived from stearic acid. While stearic acid is found in both animals and plants, Dazzle Dry only uses the latter to maintain a vegan status.
• Lanolin – A popular ingredient in cosmetics, lanolin is an oil extracted from sheep’s wool. Dazzle Dry products do not contain lanolin. Instead, we use squalane oil made from olives.
• Glycerin – Glycerin is a humectant or moisturizing agent that can be produced from animal fat. Dazzle Dry, however, only uses glycerol from plant oils.
• Collagen – Collagen, elastin and keratin, whether whole or hydrolyzed, are all considered non-vegan as they come from animals, and are not used in Dazzle Dry products.
• Beeswax / Honey – As the byproduct of bees, honey and beeswax are not used in Dazzle Dry products.