What does dermatologically tested mean?

Are your products cruelty-free?

Living cruelty free means much more than just leaving meat off your plate. It also means that you do not buy clothes, beauty or cleaning products that are made at the expense of, or are tested on animals.

Relying on labels may not be the best idea as they can be deceptive, so be careful. There are no laws that exist to dictate the truth of labels, so if a companies product does test on animals, they can still write that they don’t. There are many countries such as Germany that have recently banned animal testing- however this still means that they can import brands that do test on animals from abroad.

Whilst a product may not be tested on animals, the products individual raw materials might have been tested on animals. The list of PETA’s non-tested products includes details on ingredients, ingredient suppliers, formulations, and finished products. These products will not have been tested on animals, as they have the PETA seal of approval on it. This means each individual stage of production of the product has been checked to make sure it does not test on animals or use animal ingredients.

If you do not believe that the companies are telling the truth and are also unsure of whether to believe lists that companies such as PETA provide, just remember:

Companies are putting their integrity on the line when they respond to consumers. A company that has publicly announced an end to tests on animals and states in writing that it doesn't test on animals would face a public relations disaster and potential lawsuits if it were caught lying.

This became evident with the recent outrage that MAC cosmetics caused when the public discovered they do test their lipsticks on animals. I have many friends that have since then stopped buying MAC products altogether.

Another thing to consider is that whilst a specific makeup range does not test on animals, does not mean the company acts in accordance with these beliefs.

Most products say that they have been dermatologically tested. This means the product has been used on either on animals (most commonly rabbits and guinea pigs) or human volunteers, by using tests, which are more commonly known as skin sensitization tests.

During the tests the animal’s fur is shaved from part of its skin and the test substance is spread onto its skin. In some cases the skin is rubbed using sandpaper so that it breaks. The observation time varies up to several weeks.

When shopping, there are things that to watch out for that can help you detect if your product has been tested on animals. In the UK, many stores have a little bunny on the back of their products- this means the product did not test and experiment on animals. To be absolutely sure before you go shopping, check out the link at the bottom of the article.

Check out:

PETA

http://features.peta.org/cruelty-free-company-search/index.aspx

ANIMALIA

http://www.animalia.fi/en/faq-animal-testing