When adopting a vegan lifestyle, the first thing many people think of is the aspect of food, however this lifestyle extends to more than that. There are a multitude of beneficial ways veganism can extend into your life and one aspect is beauty. You may be wondering, why is it worth it to switch to a greener, vegan beauty routine? Here’s a quick run-down:
Vegan beauty products are free from animal products, animal by-products, and pesticides that can be found at animal farms. If you have ever checked the ingredients on non-vegan beauty products you may recognize words like, carmine, gelatin, beeswax, collagen, cholesterol, squalane, and lanolin. Rather than using animal derived ingredients, brands that are vegan certified tend to use synthetic fragrances or plant based ingredients that tend to be non-irritative and easier on your hair and skin.
Because vegan beauty products are plant-based they will include ingredients that contain more vitamins and minerals. These nutrients aid in cell regeneration, which will leave your skin feeling revitalized and looking bright and healthy. These products are also high in antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which can help with allergies, acne-prone skin, eczema, and skin inflammation.
Not only are vegan beauty products good for you and your skin, these products are also good for the environment. Since vegan products do not contain harsh chemicals, if they’re washed away in water runoff, they won’t have a difficult time breaking down into the soil and won’t harm the environment. Additionally, many vegan products are also cruelty-free products, meaning no animals are exploited, hurt, or killed from animal testing. This makes a very significant difference to the world.
So, hopefully we’ve sold you on the idea of vegan skincare. Now, if you are interested in making the switch or adding vegan products into your routine, we have compiled a list of the best vegan beauty brands offering products to augment your shower routine.
Table of Contents
Our Picks at a Glance:
- Shampoo and Conditioner: The Earthling Co.
- Body Wash: iota
- Scrubs: VOESH
- Shaving: Truly Beauty
- Shower Bombs: Body Restore
- Lotion: Grace+Stella
To start, let’s focus on the in-shower routine. We’ve found products for hair care, skin and body care, all your shaving needs, and even a product to create a relaxing environment.
Shampoo and Conditioner: The Earthling Co.
First, hair-care. If you’ve been thinking about changing your current shampoo and conditioner look no further, The Earthing Co. features vegan, cruelty-free shampoo and conditioner bars that leave your hair feeling soft, clean and moisturized with minimal impact to the environment. Their shampoo and conditioner bars are plastic free and made of concentrated ingredients wrapped in 100 percent compostable packaging, helping you create a more eco-friendly and sustainable lifestyle. Plus, all of their products are manufactured in the USA, reducing the carbon footprint of each item.
These bars are free of harmful chemicals, have no SLS, preservatives, fillers, parabens, or silicones, and last approximately 50-75 washes. They come in six naturally derived fragrances (plus an unscented option for sensitive skin) and are good for all hair types, including curly, color-treated, and bleached hair.
Interested? The Earthling Co. offers starter packs and bundles for an affordable price. Check out their website!
Body Wash: iota
The next, very important aspect in any shower routine is body wash. As our skin is the largest organ in our bodies, it’s important to protect it and use products that will strengthen and support the vast functions it provides for us.
iota was created to increase awareness of your microbiota and skin health, a pillar of comprehensive health that’s essential, just like gut health, nutrition, sleep, and exercise. Iota has a total of four products for any skin type which are specifically focused on skin health: a brightening body wash, a detoxifying body wash, a soothing body wash, and a body serum featuring 20 superfood multivitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and Niacinamide to fill essential nutrient gaps.
Unlike any other body wash, this is the first award-winning cleanser for complete nutritional and microbiome support in one — the essential foundation for better skin.
Their formulas are EU compliant, dermatologist tested, clinically tested, allergy tested, non-irritating, and free of sulfates, parabens, and phthalates. iota is vegan and Leaping Bunny certified. Their bottles are designed using a mix of sustainable bio-resin made from plants like sugarcane and corn and recyclable plastic. To offset their plastic footprint they are Plastic Neutral Certified via rePurpose Global.
Scrubs: VOESH
Next up on the list is exfoliating. Exfoliating helps to keep your skin silky soft and smooth by buffing away and removing dead skin cells. Your skin naturally sheds dead skin cells every 30 days or so. When this happens, new skin cells form the top layers of your skin.
Voesh New York features a scalp and body scrub that is a non-abrasive, scrub-to-bubble formula. This sugar scrub and body wash gently sloughs away dead skin cells then turns into a luxurious lather that leaves you feeling fresh and clean. Vegan probiotics strengthen and regenerate your skin barrier while a botanical oil blend hydrates and soothes your skin and scalp. This product comes in six different, relaxing scents – perfect for a morning or night shower.
Voesh excludes 1680+ harmful ingredients, plus an additional 400 questionable ingredients that often compromise the skin barrier, overall health, and the environment. Specifically, these products contain no talc, no phthalates, no parabens, and no benzophenone.
Their formulas are ethically-sourced, honest, and contain real ingredients that are dermatologist-tested and proven to be safe and effective. In addition, Voesh is a cruelty-free skincare brand, the products are free of animal-derived ingredients, and they never have and never will test on animals.
Looking for more? Voesh is also passionate about the quality of the shower, with their Vitamin C shower filters. Vitamin C removes residual chlorine and other impurities from hard water to rejuvenate your skin and condition your hair, one shower at a time.
Shaving: Truly Beauty
Another key aspect to any shower routine is shaving. Shaving creams and gels often contain glycerin, animal fat, lanolin and other unsafe chemicals — especially when applied directly to your face and other body parts. Thankfully, there are tons of vegan alternatives.
Truly is a vegan skincare brand focused on formulating products with a clean and vegan base combined with the most powerful, high performing skincare ingredients. Truly boasts a wide variety of vegan skin and body care products and has a range of shaving products perfect to add into your routine. Individually or in a bundled set, you can try a wide range of products from their line.
Their Smooth Legend Pre-Shave Scrub is a lightweight, sugar-based scrub to buff away dead skin cells and body odor, loosen hair follicles, and lather away pore-clogging products to reveal bright, glowing skin to prep for a clean shave.
For the shave, apply their Coco Cloud Whipped Luxury Shave Butter paired with their Life Shaver Starter Razor. A whipped coconut milk-infused, elasticity-restoring shave butter to soften and soak into the skin to combat in-grown hair and leave you with the silkiest, ultra-close shave of your dreams.
Truly is the unique combination of health, sustainability, and performance. Add this into your routine; you won’t regret it.
Shower Bombs: Body Restore
Our last pick for in-shower products are BodyRestore’s Shower Bombs. These tablets create the ultimate at-home spa experience, and who doesn’t dream of that?
With the idea in mind that bath’s can be time consuming, Body Restore has evolved the concept of bath bombs to create the same experience in the shower. These shower bombs are created from the finest natural essential oils from around the world to create aromatherapy shower tablets. As the steam and hot water from your shower hits the tablet, inhale the vapor of your favorite scent for the ultimate at home spa experience. They’re also packed with benefits to aid in decongestion, relaxation, and stress relief.
We love these shower bombs because they’re made with natural essential oils, are vegan and certified cruelty-free, and are free from talc, SLS, and parabens.
Body Restore has a shower bomb for every occasion. Explore the collection and discover the experience that’s right for you.
Lotion: Grace+Stella
To round out the shower routine, we have one last company that creates vegan and cruelty free skin care products that make self-care fun. Grace+Stella boasts a variety of products for in and out of the shower.
One of our favorite products for post-shower is their Lavender Body Lotion. Enriched with the relaxing scent of lavender essential oil and the nourishing properties of shea butter, their smooth and lightweight lavender lotion formula melts effortlessly into your skin, leaving it soft and moisturized.
Some key ingredients in this product are: rose-hip oil, which is filled with anti-inflammatory fatty acids to treat wrinkles and brighten skin; shea butter for optimal moisture; and aloe barbadensis extract, one of the most effective calming and natural ingredients out there for healing, soothing, and anti-inflammation.
Looking for other products to add to your self-care routine? Grace+Stella have everything from skincare products to face masks to serums and tools. Explore their website to try all they have to offer.
We hope that our list of vegan, cruelty-free brands will help you towards achieving and perfecting your vegan lifestyle. If you try any of these products be sure to let us know which ones you loved!
*** Since publication of this article, one of our favorite supplement brands, Ritual has produced a very unique ingestable hydration supplement, call HyaCera. Ritual has created a solution for dry skin and wrinkles, in the form of a daily skin hydration supplement. HyaCera features two clinically studied ingredients to promote glowing skin from the inside out. Check it out!
