The cruel world of animal testing

BY: GRACE S.

Photography: Grace S.

Every year, an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 animals are used to test cosmetic products worldwide, all so that companies are able to sell in markets that require animal testing and/or make “new and improved” claims on their product. Consumers should not use products that require testing on animals.

Every type of animal testing in the cosmetic field is cruel and wrong towards the animals being tested. Rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, and rats are the most common animals to be tested. The three types of testing used by cosmetic companies are skin, eye, and “lethal dose”. Skin and eye tests are both used to determine if a product causes irritation, makes them uncomfortable, or causes them pain. In a skin test, an animal is shaved and then the is product rubbed into their skin. In an eye test, large amounts of the product are administered into their eyes. “Lethal dose” tests, on the other hand, are used to see how much product an animal can consume before it becomes poisoned and dies. The animals are given no relief for their pain and after the experiments are over, they are almost always killed. Not only is this act cruel, but the results they obtain don’t always transfer accurately between animals and humans.

Animals and humans have different skin types and chemical makeups. Since they are not the exact same, there have been instances where animal testing, while still being inhumane, hasn’t bothered the animals but does bother the people that try the product afterwards. In addition to this, not every substance that gets tested on animals can be used in a way that benefits humans; the animals died in vain testing a product that people will never reap the reward of.

There are many alternative ways to get more accurate results than the brutishness that is animal testing. Scientists can grow artificial human skin in laboratories. That artificial skin is better at testing and detecting skin irritations in real humans than rabbit tests are. There is a method involving test tubes that can distinguish toxic from non-toxic cosmetic ingredients without the use of animal or people testing. This eliminates the need for animal testing altogether.

For a brand to be considered “cruelty free” there are some requirements they must meet. They must not conduct animal testing with any preliminary or finished products.They must not sell in markets that require animal testing. For example, there is a requirement in the Chinese government that cosmetic products must be tested on animals, therefore none of the products sold in China are considered cruelty free. Finally, new ingredients can only be used in products if human safety can be determined without the use of animal testing. These qualifications are set in order to protect animals from cruelties.

Companies that still test on animals want to use “new” ingredients that require a safety test so that those products can be put on the market. Cruelty-free brands can exist while continuing to make new products because they use some combination of the thousands of already tested ingredients that exist and are safe for human use. This eliminates the need for animals testing because there is already an assurance of its safety for humans.

For the benefit of lab tested animals and the consumer’s own conscience, customers should not purchase cosmetic products that aren’t labeled as cruelty free.

Cruelty Free Brands: Anastasia Beverly Hills, Urban Decay, Milk Makeup, Tarte, Lush, e.l.f., Marc Jacobs, Kat Von D Beauty, Too Faced, and NYX