Skincare product consumers are starting to look beyond traditional cosmetics to beauty products that are good for the environment and themselves. Therefore, it’s unsurprising that vegan skincare is becoming more popular in the beauty products market for many reasons.
Besides being free of animal byproducts, vegan skincare doesn’t accept animal testing, meaning it’s cruelty-free. As a vegan, finding effective skincare products can be tricky. But with so many great vegan-friendly brands on the market, it’s not impossible.
Here’s a list of the 13 best vegan skincare products of 2022, chosen for their quality and effectiveness. Whether you’re looking for a new moisturizer or an all-in-one face wash and serum, these products have you covered.
Table of Contents
What Are Vegan Skincare Products?
Vegan skincare products are made without animal-derived ingredients like collagen, lanolin, carmine, beeswax, honey, or milk. These products are also not tested on animals and don’t contain ingredients tested on animals.
Most skincare brands use beeswax. Although the ingredient is vegetarian (no animal died while obtaining it), it’s not vegan. However, in vegan skincare, carnauba wax or soy wax is used in place of beeswax.
Vegan skincare is a better option than cruelty-free skincare. Although cruelty-free skincare products aren’t tested on animals, they contain animal ingredients. On the other hand, vegan skincare products don’t contain animal and animal testing ingredients.
In 2022, most skincare brands are using vegan ingredients, either synthetically made or plant-derived. However, the animal testing practice continues, the reason most popular skincare brands can’t call themselves vegan.
If you’re unsure whether a skincare product is entirely vegan even after looking at the ingredients, it’s best to contact the brand for confirmation.
Difference Between Vegan and Cruelty-Free Products
While cruelty-free is a popular term in the vegan world, it’s not the same as vegan. Cruelty-free refers to products containing animal products but aren’t tested on animals.
On the other hand, vegan skincare products don’t contain animal byproducts and aren’t also tested on animals. If you want cruelty-free skincare products, check that the pack comes with a Leaping Bunny certification. The program is the animal friendliness standard and requires zero animal testing during production.
Top 13 Vegan Skincare Products to Try in 2022
Regardless of what your skin care needs are, there are vegan products to help meet them. The following are some of the top 13 vegan beauty products for 2022:
Ginseng Retinol Night Cream
The beauty of this anti-aging night cream from Tree to Tub lies in its ingredients. Green tea offers natural toning, while ginseng brightens the skin complexion, leading to a bright, even skin tone.
The night cream contains hyaluronic acid and retinol to reduce wrinkle appearance. Due to retinol’s harshness on sensitive skin, it’d be best to include the Organic Soothing Botanicals containing Rose water, Chamomile, Cucumber, and Aloe Vera.
Detox Purifying Facial Bar
The Purifying Detox Facial Bar from the Seaweed Bath Co contains a unique formula of green tea extract, volcanic ash, charcoal powder, and nutrient-rich bladderwrack seaweed extract that helps to purify, nourish, and hydrate the skin.
This unscented Detox Purifying Facial Bar is made with high-quality and natural ingredients and doesn’t contain gluten, parabens, or sulfates. It’s vegan and also cruelty-free with a Leaping Bunny certification.
The Ordinary’s Niacinamide Serum
Perfect for treating breakouts, this effective serum from The Ordinary combines zinc and niacinamide to reduce blemish-causing bacteria, improve moisture retention, and minimize pores.
Besides being affordable, The Ordinary is PETA certified and cruelty-free.
Pai Rosehip BioRegenerate Oil
This Pai product is one of the best-selling vegan skincare products and a favorite of people with dry skin. It comes packed with nourishing rosehip seed and fruit oil to help hydrate dry skin, protecting it from external aggressors.
Like all Pai products, the rosehip bioregenerate oil is free from animal derivatives and comes with a certification from The Vegan Society.
Copper Peptide and Squalane Rapid Plumping Serum
Like all Biossance beauty products fully powered by plants, this rapid plumping serum contains squalane, hyaluronic acid, and copper peptide to strengthen, firm, and lift your skin while keeping it moisturized and hydrated.
Superfood Cleanser
This superfood vegan cleanser from Youth To The People contains antioxidant-rich alfalfa, anti-inflammatory tea tree oil, and soothing spinach to restore and refresh your skin. As an eco-conscious brand, Youth To The People uses only plant-based ingredients rich in nutrients and antioxidants to formulate its products.
Light Aura Peptide and Vitamin C Eye Cream
Suppose you’re dealing with dark under eyes. In that case, you might want to try this nourishing eye cream from Summer Fridays loaded with caffeine, peptides, and vitamin E and C.
Summer Fridays is renowned for its vegan lightweight formula and beautiful packaging and deserve to be a part of every cool girl’s skincare product collection.
Due Alberi Moisturizing Oil
This vegan super hydrating face oil from Furtuna Skin contains 12 foraged ingredients that replenish and plump the skin. Furtuna skin is a ‘farm-to-face’ skincare brand that harnesses hand-picked wild-harvested botanicals from the founder’s Sicilian farm to create beauty products with many natural benefits.
Pimples Serum Concentrate
Odacité’s pimples serum concentrate contains black cumin oil, helping to control bacterial spread and banish blemishes. Odacité has various ranges of vegan serum concentrates produced with a potent blend of oils and plant extracts for different skincare concerns.
Ilia’s Super Serum With SPF 40
Besides containing squalane to help minimize your skin’s fine lines and hyaluronic acid to keep your skin firm and hydrated, Ilia’s super serum contains SPF 40 for protecting your skin from the sun.
This skin tint provides dewy, light coverage that looks exactly like your skin. Check the multitude of shades to choose one that matches your skin color. The best part of buying Ilia’s beauty products is that one percent of the sale goes to helping the planet.
Bare Republic’s Mineral SPF 50 Sunscreen Spray
This Bare Republic sunscreen spray contains antioxidants such as carrot seed oil for restoring your glow and raspberry seed oil for protecting the skin from environmental stressors. Although it’s water resistant, you have to reapply the 50 SPF sunscreen spray every few hours, like all sunscreens.
Bliss Naked Body Butter
Besides buying quality vegan products for your face, you also need to care for your body. You might want to start with this nutrient-rich Bliss Naked body butter that moisturizes without being greasy.
This body butter hydrates the skin thanks to the coconut oil and shea butter ingredients. The Bliss Naked body butter is your best bet if you’re battling flaky, dry skin but desire super soft, smooth skin.
Ferver Prebiotic Glow Serum
Adding this prebiotic glow serum by Ferver to your morning skincare routine will ensure a continuous bright face. Ferver skincare brand only produces cruelty-free and PETA-Approved vegan products. Consider adding other face products like the moisturizing chamomile cleansing balm or the vegan collagen serum while shopping for the glow serum.
Top 6 Vegan Skincare Brands
If you’re just starting your vegan skincare journey, we recommend the following brands:
Biossance
While squalane is the heart of Biossance’s skin care products, it’s still 100% full-fledged vegan. As one of the biotech beauty trend pioneers, Biossance invented a famous patented fermentation technique allowing for a plant-derived, sustainable alternative to squalene.
This plant-based alternative provides the same extra hydrating benefits as the main squalene commonly found in sharks. However, it’s non-comedogenic and completely vegan. Biossance is a celebrities’ favorite and has a product range for every skin type.
If you’re interested in using their products, start with the Vitamin C and Squalene Rose Oil, which hydrates, firms, and brightens the skin while infusing your body with a rosy glow.
Pai Skincare
This luxury skincare line offers cruelty-free and vegan beauty products for people with sensitive skin. Founded in 2007 by Sarah Brown, Pai Skincare formulates its products using 100% natural active ingredients and no irritating chemicals, alcohol, perfumes, or toxins.
Pain skincare products are perfect for people with ultra-sensitive skin types and are individually tested and consciously sourced. If you have allergy-prone and reactive skin, you’re in safe hands with Pai skincare products.
Use the Rosehip Bioregenerate Facial Oil for an immediate skin-soothing benefit. It helps to reduce irritation and redness while strengthening the skin for a more rejuvenated and healthier glow.
Summer Fridays
Summer Fridays is a cool-girl isn’t a famous brand by two beauty influencers, Lauren Ireland and Mariana Hewitt. This popular skincare brand founded in 2018 started with the Jet Lag Mask and has since expanded to body care products, moisturizers, and cleansers featuring the brand’s insta-friendly and chic aesthetic.
Besides the sold-out masks, you might want to try the Light Aura Peptide and Vitamin C Eye Cream and the Cloud Dew Gel Cream.
Moon Juice
Moon Juice’s skincare brand combines wisdom, science, and plants to create self-care and beauty products. This LA-based vegan brand uses active, sustainable, and pure plant-based ingredients, such as ashwagandha and silver ear mushrooms, to make a holistic sense of wellness and balance.
Consider using the Acid Potion Resurfacing Exfoliator to soothe redness, minimize pore appearances, and remove dead skin cells for a healthy glow, gentle brightening treatment, and a youthful complexion.
Youth To The People
This family-owned, California-based vegan skincare brand launched in 2015 and is behind some popular masks, moisturizers, and cleansers. Youth To The People focuses its consciously sourced quality products around nutrient-dense superfoods, such as green tea, mushrooms, and kale blended to deliver powerful, environmentally friendly skin products perfect for your skin.
Besides the popular Superberry Hydrate and Glow Dream Face and the Superfood Antioxidant Cleanser, you might want to try the 15% Vitamin C Energy Serum, packed with antioxidants that naturally brighten tired-looking dull complexions.
Herbivore Botanicals
This Seattle-founded luxury skincare brand offers products that are effective and display-worthy. Herbivore Botanicals is certified vegan and sources the finest natural, raw ingredients to create beauty products that restore the skin to optimal vitality and health.
From animal-friendly formulas and luxurious textures to intoxicating scents, there’s so much to love about this beauty brand. You might want to add the award-winning Bakuchiol Retinol Smoothing Serum to your beauty routine.
This gentle retinol serum from Herbivore Botanicals helps to smoothen the skin’s fine lines without the irritation associated with retinol.
Tips for Buying Vegan Skincare
Ensure the vegan skincare products you buy are perfect for your skin type. Vegan skincare is safe for all skin types, but the wrong formula won’t give your skin the desired results.
If you have dry skin, you might want to go for an alcohol-free vegan skincare product formulated to lock in moisture. People with sensitive skin should avoid harsh additives, essential oils, and fragrances in their vegan skincare.
Lastly, people with oily skin need to invest in a powerful, lightweight moisturizer and vegan cleanser.
FAQs
Are Vegan Skincare Products Better Than Traditional Skincare?
Vegan skincare products use only natural and clean ingredients that nourishes and replenishes the skin. If you have sensitive or dry skin, it’s best to go for natural vegan skin care products.
Can Retinol be Vegan?
Although retinol isn’t vegan in the food industry, it’s different in the beauty industry because it’s gotten from synthetic sources, as naturally occurring retinol isn’t stable enough for cosmetic use. Simply put, retinol skincare products are vegan-friendly.
What’s the Most Hydrating Skincare Ingredient for the Face?
Hyaluronic acid is the most popular hydrating skincare ingredient. Besides the one your body naturally produces to keep your connective tissues, joints, and skin lubricated, skincare brands also include this vital ingredient to help moisturize your skin, keep it hydrated, and enjoy a radiant complexion.
How Can I Rehydrate Aging Skin?
Ensure you have water on your skin before applying moisturizer to help hydrate your skin. Applying a fragrance-free, creamy moisturizer made for dry skin three minutes after bathing and throughout the day will help restore the skin’s protective barrier and ease the dryness.
Conclusion
Vegan skincare products are becoming more popular for a good reason; they offer many benefits to your body. Not only are they great for your skin, but vegan skincare is also environmentally friendly.
Experts predict that traditional cosmetics will give way for vegan alternatives in the next decade. Plenty of vegan-friendly options are available if you’re looking for a quality moisturizer or sunscreen.
Some of our favorite vegan brands include Pai Skincare, Biossance, Moon Juice, and Youth to the People. Consider starting with one of these brands and see if their products work for you.
Transitioning from using traditional cosmetic products to vegan skincare products is pretty easy. You just have to know how to source vegan-friendly and cruelty-free beauty products.
If you’re interested in learning more about these products or want to find a store near you that sells them, contact us at Vegan Justice League. We would be happy to help!