Celebrate the Month of Veganuary with Vegan Beauty

January is the month of being vegan. But if eating vegan isn’t your thing, try vegan beauty instead.

Veganuary is the movement to either eat or be vegan in January. Whether that be for the whole month, or even just for a week. Or adopt the concept of using vegan beauty products only.

Adopting a vegan diet is the process of eliminating all animal products, including meat, fish, dairy and eggs. Even honey is off the menu.

Tarj Mavi, founder of beauty brand La Mav says: “The biggest benefit of embracing veganism is to visualize a world where farmed animals are not being treated as a commodity. Only a small change embraced by millions of people can make a huge difference and can change the way we view animals.”

But if the idea of ditching animal foods from your diet seems a little unattainable, undesirable, or dare I say way too stressful. Why don’t you try swapping your mainstream beauty products for vegan ones instead? 

Nedahl Stelio, founder of beauty brand Recreation Beauty says: “It’s very easy to choose products created without animal parts.

I’m a big believer in not using animal-based ingredients to make ourselves beautiful. It just seems such a very easy decision to make. Even if they say the ingredient is harvested by not harming the animal, there will come a time when if you need enough of that ingredient those animals will be kept on-premises for that ingredient. And there are now other ingredients we can use to make ourselves beautiful, so why don’t we just always choose vegan?

Most cosmetics, perfume, and skincare from the last century were made with animal products. Newer, smaller brands are focused on delivering high-quality vegan products, so think small and independent when buying. The musk deer were hunted into almost-extinction for their coveted musk scent in perfumery, so this is a big one for the fragrance industry.

Always check the label – even if something looks natural and vegan unless they specifically state it on the packaging they are not. 

Your conscience. As we move to a more evolved, inclusive society, these decisions are small but have a huge impact on the way we go forward.”

Research from Euromonitor International indicates Australia will continue to grow as the third fastest growing vegan market in the world, at a 9.6 percent growth with the head of Health and Wellness for Euromonitor stating Australia is one to watch when it comes to the demand for vegan friendly products. Accompanying this trend is that of conscious consumerism. 

A PayPal report found 55% of Australian consumers make purchasing decisions based on their values around the environment, ethics or fair-trade. With the rise of these trends, there is no better time to showcase beauty products that are vegan.

Choosing vegan skincare isn’t only about making a powerful ethical decision – your skin also benefits from the abundance of nature’s gifts that produce incredibly powerful results!

Nature’s very own intelligence provides rich and potent sources of phytonutrients, essential fatty acids, vitamins A, B, C, E and intensive antioxidants, with remarkable anti-inflammatory and age defying benefits. We draw on Australian native botanicals rich in bioactive compounds to provide these sophisticated benefits for the skin.

Trudi Jaye, General Manager of Olivia Newton-John’s Australian beauty brand Retreatment Botanics says: “Choosing vegan beauty is also better for the planet. We set out to create a skincare range that was not only certified vegan & cruelty free, but also certified palm oil free. Formulating all of our products without palm oil derivatives meant that we were able to help protect the endangered Orang-utan rainforest habitat.”

For a while now, becoming a full vegan has been one of those life goals I have attempted to achieve time and time again. However, adopting a vegan diet can be challenging. There is a lot of preparation and thought required to maintain a healthy vegan diet. Healthy being the operative word.

There are so many ways you can fail at being vegan and find yourself eating foods which might be classed as vegan, but not entirely healthy or good for you.

So, adopting an alternative vegan lifestyle, by using only vegan beauty products, home cleaning products and even ditching animal by-product clothing as well, not only is a great way to support the cause. Ethically, it can be rewarding as well, knowing you are helping reduce the unnecessary need of using animal derived ingredients, particularly found in a lot of beauty products.

And believe it or not, switching over to vegan based beauty products isn’t as hard as you think, with many brands now being easily accessible in most supermarkets. 

When I first started out on my vegan beauty journey several years ago, it was challenging to say the least, to make the switch. With many products not easy to find, especially haircare. I had to purchase most of them online. Though Priceline was doing an okay job retailing a few brands which were vegan. Most of the time, I had to source brands online for purchasing. 

However, now so many well-known brands, as much as new brands, now all have vegan products as part of their range, making it easier now more than ever to make the switch.

Related Story: Why Vegan Beauty Is on the Rise

To help you get started, I have chosen eleven beauty products which range from haircare to skincare (even toothpaste), to help you on your journey to making the switch to vegan beauty.