Welcome to my non vegan beauty ingredients guide! After doing a full clearout of my non-vegan, non-cruelty-free makeup, I knew that I needed to make this post. I was struggling so hard to figure out whether some products were vegan or not. Cosmetic ingredients lists can be so difficult to decipher, especially with the scientific names. But, there’s no need to worry anymore, because I will be compiling every non-vegan ingredient I come across into this absolute mega post! Ingredients will be listed A to Z, with a short description of what the ingredient actually is in layman’s terms.
I will be adding to/updating this list as and when I come across ingredients I find out not to be vegan! If there’s anything that should be on this list that isn’t, please comment or drop me a message on any of my socials.
NOTE: Any ingredient with an asterisk * against its name can either be animal or plant-derived, and you may need to do extended research to find out whether the product you’re looking at uses the plant alternative.
A
Albumen – Derived from egg whites as a coagulating agent.
Allantoin* – Acid extracted from mammal urine (usually cows).
B
Bee Glue – See Propolis.
Beeswax – A natural wax produced by bees.
Biotin* – Occurs naturally in liver, kidney, and egg yolk.
C
Carmine – A red dye, made from drying, crushing, and boiling insects (cochineal beetles).
Carmine Lake – See Carmine.
Cera Alba – See Beeswax.
C.I. 75170 – See Guanine.
C.I. 75470 – See Carmine.
Cire D’Abeille – See Beeswax
Cochineal (Dye) – See Carmine.
Cochineal Extract – See Carmine.
Collagen – Usually obtained from slaughterhouse waste such as cartilage, connective tissue, and skins of cows and fish.
Crimson Lake – See Carmine.
Cysteine – An amino acid produced in animals (including humans).
D
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E
E120 – See Carmine.
Elastin – Obtained from neck ligaments and arteries of cattle.
F
Fish Scales – Actual fish scales can be used to in shimmery makeup.
G
Glycerin* – A sugar alcohol derived from animal products.
Goat Hair – Hair from goat, often used in makeup brushes.
Guanine* – Extracted from killed animals. Can also come from fish scales and uric acid (urine).
H
Honey – A sweet, sticky yellowish-brown fluid made by bees and other insects.
Hydrolyzed Conchiolin Protein – Chemically altered proteins from pearl oysters.
Hydrolyzed Milk Protein – Chemically altered milk protein.
Hydrolyzed Pearl – Chemically altered pearls.
Hydrolyzed Silk – Chemically altered proteins from silk.
I
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J
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K
Keratin – Ground-up animal hair, horns, hooves, and feathers.
L
Lactic Acid* – Extracted from milk.
Lactoferrin – Protein extracted from milk.
Lactose – Sugar extracted from milk.
Lanolin – A wax secreted by the sebaceous glands of wool-bearing animals.
Lauric Acid* – A fatty acid sometimes derived from animals.
M
Mink – The fur of a mink.
Mink Oil – The oil obtained by the rendering of mink fat, which comes from mink pelts.
Myristic Acid* – A fatty acid sometimes derived from animals.
N
Natural Red 4 – See Carmine.
O
Oleic Acid* – A fatty acid sometimes derived from animals.
P
Palmitic Acid* – A fatty acid sometimes derived from animals.
Pearl Powder – Crushed pearls.
Pony Hair – Hair from ponies, often used for makeup brushes
Propolis – A resinous substance that bees produce from materials collected from tree buds.
Q
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R
Royal Jelly – Secretions from the glands in the hypopharynx (throat) of nurse bees.
S
Sericin – A protein created by silkworms in the production of silk.
Shellac – A resin secreted by the female lac bug.
Silk Amino Acids – Extracted from raw silk, produced by silkworms.
Silk Glue – See Sericin.
Silk Powder – Extracted from the cocoon of the silkworm.
Snail Mucin – Extract from the slime of snails.
Sodium Lauroyl Hydrolyzed Silk – see Hydrolyzed Silk.
Squalane* – See Squalene.
Squalene* – Typically obtained from shark liver oil.
Stearic Acid* – A fatty acid sometimes derived from animals.
T
Tocopherol* – Refers to Vitamin E which can be derived from animal sources.
U
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V
Vitamin B7 – See Biotin.
Vitamin H – See Biotin.
W
Wool Grease – See Lanolin.
Wool Wax – See Lanolin.
Wool Yolk – See Lanolin.
X
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Y
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Z
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Is Something Missing From The Non Vegan Beauty Ingredients Guide?
Leave a comment below with the missing ingredient, or feel free to message me directly on any of my social channels. I’ll be announcing any changes to this list over on my Instagram stories, so go follow me there to stay up to date!
On behalf of the animals, thank you for keeping their bodies and produce out of your makeup bag!
And if you would like to read more vegan beauty posts, click here.
Love, Flossie ♡
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