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Home » Skincare » Is Neutrogena Cruelty Free and Vegan? (2024 Update)

Is Neutrogena Cruelty Free and Vegan? (2024 Update)

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Neutrogena is not cruelty free and vegan. Neutrogena does test their products on animals. Some of their products are vegan, but Neutrogena is not a 100% vegan brand.

Read my thorough analysis below and find out why Neutrogena is not cruelty free and vegan.

I’ll also share some of my favorite cruelty free and vegan alternatives to Neutrogena’s most popular products.

Let’s dive right in!

Is Neutrogena cruelty free? Are Neutrogena products tested on animals?

Unfortunately, Neutrogena is not cruelty free because they test their products on animals in some situations.

This is the official Neutrogena Animal Testing Policy:

“We want you to feel good about how we make NEUTROGENA® products. You can only do that if you have the facts. The fact is, NEUTROGENA® doesn’t conduct animal testing of our cosmetic products anywhere in world, except in the rare situation where governments or laws require it. At NEUTROGENA®, we won’t ever compromise on the quality or safety of our products or stop seeking alternatives to animal testing.”

In their animal testing policy, the phrasing they used is a little misleading.

They state that they do not test on animals anywhere, “except in the rare situation where governments or laws require it”.

No matter how “rare” these situations are, brands that allow animal testing of their products to be performed are not cruelty free according to my standards.

So, in conclusion, although they’re making efforts to stop animal testing, Neutrogena is not cruelty free and may test their products on animals where required by law.

Let’s take a look at the details.

Is Neutrogena sold in China?

Yes, Neutrogena is sold in mainland China, where animal testing is still required by law.

As you can see in their animal testing policy quote above, they do test their products on animals when such testing is required by law.

Since this is the case in mainland China, Neutrogena must test their products on animals to be able to sell on the Chinese market.

More specifically, post-market animal testing of Neutrogena products may be performed.

Why can’t cruelty free brands sell in mainland China?

Animal testing is still happening for products sold in physical stores in mainland China.

Pre-market animal testing is required for all special-use imported products, and non-routine post-market testing on animals may also be done in cases of customer complaints.

However, please keep in mind that this doesn’t apply to products sold in stores at the airports, or in Hong Kong.

Also, products can be sold online and shipped to mainland China without being tested on animals.

Is Neutrogena owned by a parent brand? If yes, is it cruelty free?

Neutrogena is owned by the company Johnson & Johnson, which is not cruelty free.

This is the official Johnson & Johnson animal testing policy. 

Johnson & Johnson Consumer does not test cosmetic or personal care products on animals anywhere in the world, except in rare situations where required by law or where alternatives to validate safety do not exist.

We share our consumers’ values and understand how deeply they care about the well-being of animals, so we are always striving to do better when it comes to this important issue.

By partnering with top research organisations around the world to develop and promote alternative non-animal testing technology, we are committed to both ensuring the safety of our consumers, and to making the strides necessary to forever eliminate the need to test any cosmetic or personal care product or ingredient on an animal.

As you can see, they used similar phrasing as before – except when required by law.

However, they also mention that they do test on animals where there are no alternatives to animal testing for that particular test.

This means that Johnson & Johnson is definitely not cruelty free.

Is Neutrogena vegan?

Neutrogena is not vegan.

Some of their products are vegan, but as a brand, Neutrogena is not 100% vegan. None of their products are certified as vegan.

Animal-derived ingredients used in some of Neutrogena’s products are: gelatin, beeswax, and similar animal by-products.

Is Neutrogena vegetarian?

No, Neutrogena is not vegetarian.

Some of their products are vegetarian, but as a brand, Neutrogena is not vegetarian. None of their products are certified as vegetarian.

Some Neutrogena products such as their cream cleanser contain gelatin, which is not vegetarian-friendly.

Cruelty free and vegan alternatives to Neutrogena

Neutrogena is mostly known for skincare products, but they also offer a wide variety of makeup and haircare products.

These are my favorite cruelty free and vegan alternatives:

Pacifica (100% vegan)

Acure (100% vegan)

Skyn Iceland (100% vegan)

100% Pure (100% vegan)


Now, I’d like to hear from you.

What do you think about Neutrogena’s cruelty free status? What are your favorite cruelty free and vegan alternatives to Neutrogena products?

Tell us in the comments below!

4 thoughts on “Is Neutrogena Cruelty Free and Vegan? (2024 Update)”

  1. Neutrogena is not cruelty free in my opinion. I usually check anything I use is vegan/cruelty free but due to very dry sore hands I just picked it up. When I put it on my hands I had a feeling it wasnt vegan. I checked on your site and am glad i did. I wont use it again now i know. I will do what i normally do and check first.

    1. Hello Kay! Thank you for your comment 🙂 If you don’t mind, I’d like to share my opinion on what I would do if I was in your situation. I usually say this to people who start going cruelty free and are wondering whether they should throw away all of their non-cruelty free and non-vegan products they have purchased before going cruelty free. In my opinion, it would be wasteful to throw such products away and is also not good for the environment. If the product works well, use it up but don’t repurchase it. You can start looking for cruelty free and vegan alternatives now so when you run out of it, you can repurchase a cruelty free and vegan product. If you’re not comfortable with using it, I totally understand. If it’s lightly used, you can consider giving the leftover product to someone close (a friend or family member) that wouldn’t mind using it. If you have any non-cruelty free products that are unopened and you don’t want to use, you can also try donating them. Hope this helps!

  2. What does it matter if the testing is done because China requires it? I bet the kittens and bunnies used as test subjects don’t care what the reason is. Neutrogena and J&J would take a hit economically if they lost China as a market, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t the right thing to do. None of those execs are going to starve.

  3. There should not be any animal testing on any product this is an outrage that has been going on for years and needs to stop I am not going to put something on my face and body if it is tested on animals it is cruelty to the animal this is so barbaric everything should be cruelty free and vegan products is the way to go

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