When you decide to go cruelty free and vegan, it can be quite hard to find new skin care brands to support and love.
Sometimes you’ll find brands that are cruelty free, but are not vegan. Others are both cruelty free and vegan, but have questionable ethics with respect to sustainability, ecology and social issues.
Often, they might be too expensive if you’re on a budget or might not ship in your country. And sometimes, some products might just not work as well…
Well, you’re not alone! Finding awesome, affordable and ethical brands with products that actually work can be really hard.
However, we did the research and analyzed dozens of brands.
We came up with this list of 7 best skin care brands that are cruelty free, 100% vegan, sustainable, with effective products, ethical in all aspects and affordable, too!
Before we start, let’s just quickly define what we mean by cruelty free and vegan. If you want to learn more, check out our post where we explain this in more detail.
Cruelty free brands don’t test on animals. They make sure their suppliers don’t test on animals, they do not commission third parties to test on animals, and do not sell in countries where animal testing is required by law (e.g. mainland China).
Vegan brands are those who don’t use animal-derived ingredients in any of their products.
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s dive right in!
7 Best Cruelty Free Skin Care Brands in 2020:
- Pacifica
- Acure Organics
- OSEA
- Meow Meow Tweet
- OZNaturals
- Skyn Iceland
- 100% Pure
1. Pacifica
Pacifica has been around since 1996 and they’ve been a leader in the natural, vegan and cruelty free beauty revolution ever since.
Their offer includes a wide variety of skin care, body care, fragrance, makeup and more.
They are very careful about the ingredients they choose – no parabens, phthalates, sulfates, petroleum, toxins and similar stuff you definitely want to avoid.
Pacifica is completely committed to sustainability and using only natural ingredients.
All of their boxes are 100% recyclable, and they aim to have zero manufacturing waste in their factories to help save the environment.
Additionally, one of the values of this awesome brand is supporting the local economy, so they try to manufacture as much of their products in the USA as possible.
All of their products are 100% vegan and cruelty free, as well as eco-friendly.
Plus, they’re very affordable and are definitely within the range of drugstore product prices.
In conclusion, Pacifica is an awesome brand to start with if you’re new to natural and vegan skin care. Whatever Pacifica product you choose – you can’t go wrong!
We recommend checking out their Dry It Out Acne Gel Spot Treatment which is a miracle product to dry out pimples fast.
Another recommendation is the Alight Multi-Mineral BB Cream which is one of their bestsellers for a reason – it’s very effective in evening out the skin tone and minimizing pores and provides a lot of coverage without making your skin look cakey.
| Cruelty Free | Yes; PETA certified; NOT sold in mainland China |
| Vegan | All products are 100% vegan, no animal-derived ingredients |
| Eco-friendly | 100% recyclable boxes |
| Where to buy? | Amazon, Ulta |
2. Acure Organics
Acure offers a wide variety of affordable, natural and certified organic skin care products, and they’re also one of the leaders in the organic hair care and body care.
They use only high quality pure and gentle ingredients.
But don’t let that fool you! Each Acure product is specifically formulated to target different skin issues, and combines the ingredients in an innovative way to provide fantastic results.
Some of those ingredients include plant stem cells to ensure that all of the plant extracts used within their products have the full potency and effectiveness.
Other ingredients include CGF which helps boost the DNA and RNA replication process, and all kinds of organic superfruits and herbs.
They are an amazing company that cares about the environment.
They use sustainable and eco-friendly sources throughout the entire supply chain.
Literally each one of their products is cruelty free and 100% vegan.
Additionally, their products don’t contain parabens, sulfates, phthalates and synthetic fragrances.
You have to try the Acure Brightening Cleansing Gel, which is one of their bestselling products.
| Cruelty Free | Leaping Bunny and PETA cruelty free certified |
| Vegan | All products are 100% vegan, no animal-derived ingredients |
| Eco-friendly | Sustainable ingredient sourcing in the entire supply chain |
| Where to buy? | Amazon, iHerb |
3. OSEA
OSEA is a family business founded in 1996. Inspired by the healing benefits of seaweed, they aimed to become the pioneers of the natural and organic skincare.
OSEA stands for “Ocean, Sun, Earth, Atmosphere”, which is the main inspiration for everything this brand does.
All of their products are sourced from natural and non-toxic ingredients, most of which are certified organic by the USDA.
Seaweed and essential oils are the base ingredients in most OSEA products.
OSEA follows sustainable manufacturing and packaging principles.
They never use synthetic ingredients and their products are packaged in recyclable glass.
They care about the ethical treatment of all living beings – which includes both animals and humans!
They try to support family operated collectives and support local economies and small businesses.
OSEA is a cruelty free skin care brand – you can be sure that their products are never tested on animals as OSEA is Leaping Bunny certified as cruelty free.
Also, ALL of their products are 100% vegan and certified by PETA’s Beauty Without Bunnies.
They are one of those indie brands that certainly deserve more attention. You should definitely check them out.
Take the OSEA skin care quiz to get recommendations about products targeting specific skin issues such as skin that is too oily or dry, stressed and damaged skin, etc.
| Cruelty Free | Leaping Bunny and PETA cruelty free certified |
| Vegan | All products are 100% vegan, no animal-derived ingredients |
| Eco-friendly | Recyclable glass packaging |
| Where to buy? | Amazon |
4. Meow Meow Tweet
Meow Meow Tweet is a small vegan skin care company based in Gardiner, NY and is named in honor of the founders’ two cats and a pet bird.
Their products are handcrafted and sourced from natural and mostly organic ingredients. Some of them include unrefined plant oils, essential oils and wild-crafted botanicals.
Meow Meow Tweet’s offer includes mostly skin care products, but also deodorants, body and hair products.
They try to follow sustainable principles during the production of their products, and use refillable glass containers and PCW papers for packaging.
To help save the environment, Meow Meow Tweet also runs a bulk refill program, where you can buy in bulk (which also saves you 15% on the product and ships for free).
The bulk products come in large containers, from which you can refill your personal-sized containers over and over, and after you’ve used up all of the product, you can return the large container to them so they can sterilize it and refill it for someone else.
Meow Meow Tweet donates each month to several organizations and charities that support animal welfare, civil liberty, ecology and cancer treatments for patients, to name a few.
They are Leaping Bunny certified cruelty free, and absolutely all ingredients used within Meow Meow Tweet products are 100% vegan.
An honest recommendation is the Meow Meow Tweet Vegan Lip Balm, a vegan lip balm that actually works and smells like heaven.
You can save 10% if you subscribe to their delivery program and your products will be automatically delivered to you on your preferred schedule.
| Cruelty Free | Leaping Bunny and PETA certified cruelty free |
| Vegan | All products are 100% vegan, no animal-derived ingredients |
| Eco-friendly | Glass containers, PCW paper, MMT bulk refill program |
| Where to buy? | Amazon |
5. OZNaturals
OZNaturals is a cruelty free and vegan skin care brand that aims to offer affordable products which are both natural AND highly effective.
They’re famous for their cold processing manufacturing method, which basically means that the ingredients are sourced without the use of heat or chemical emulsion.
By avoiding heat and chemical emulsion, their goal is to avoid the usage of dangerous petrochemicals and preserve the effectiveness and potency of the active ingredients.
OZNaturals formulations do not contain any parabens, sulfates, phthalates and other dangerous chemicals. They’re also fragrance-free.
This brand is committed to following eco-friendly and sustainable practices during the manufacturing of their products.
Their cold process manufacturing method is energy-efficient and has a small carbon footprint.
The packaging of OZNaturals products is recyclable.
OZNaturals finished products and ingredients are never tested on animals, in any phase of the manufacturing process.
You should definitely give this brand a try! You can start with the OZNaturals Vitamin C + AHA Facial Serum, which is definitely one of the most effective facial serums out there.
You can also take their skin care quiz to get recommendations tailored to your personal skincare problems and preferences.
| Cruelty Free | Leaping Bunny cruelty free certified |
| Vegan | All products are 100% vegan, no animal-derived ingredients |
| Eco-friendly | Recyclable packaging, using cold process methods which save energy |
| Where to buy? | Amazon |
6. Skyn Iceland
Skyn Iceland is an awesome Icelandic cruelty free brand that offers skincare products which are specifically formulated for stressed skin.
The products are sourced from natural ingredients such as Icelandic Glacial Water, Arctic Superfruits Cloudberry & Cranberry seed oils rich in Omega fatty acids, as well as Pure Molecular Oxygen.
None of their products contain parabens, petroleum, mineral oil and sulfates.
And they’re eco-friendly too! They use easily recyclable packaging where possible.
All of their amazing skincare products are 100% vegan and cruelty free, so you can get balanced and glowing skin without worrying that animals might have been harmed in the process.
You must try the Skin Hangover – Emergency Relief Kit for Face and Eyes which includes four different products – a face mask, lotion, eye cream and eye gels, all united to detoxify and bring your stressed skin back to life.
| Cruelty Free | Leaping Bunny cruelty free certified |
| Vegan | All products are 100% vegan, no animal-derived ingredients; Certified vegan by PETA |
| Eco-friendly | Recyclable packaging where possible |
| Where to buy? | Amazon |
7. 100% Pure
This brand is committed to producing only the purest and healthiest skin care, makeup and hair products. Or, as they put it – 100% PURE isn’t just their name.
100% Pure products are indeed pure – they do not contain any synthetic or toxic chemicals, artificial fragrances, chemical preservatives or other harsh ingredients.
Their products are healthy, clean and nourishing, and never include any animal-based ingredients – all products are 100% vegan.
100% Pure products are never tested on animals at any stage of manufacturing, and they’re Leaping Bunny certified cruelty free.
As their mission is to improve the lives of humans and animals across the world, they donate to several organizations and charities.
For each received order, they actually donate 1 bowl of vegan dog food which is then fed to dogs at local shelters.
Vegan dog food saves water and forests, and while also feeding a hungry dog each day. How awesome is that?!
You must try the Coffee Bean Caffeine Eye Cream which really refreshes the under eye area and prevents puffing.
You should also check out their skin care finder to get perfect product recommendations for your specific skin concerns.
| Cruelty Free | Leaping Bunny cruelty free certified |
| Vegan | All products are 100% vegan, no animal-derived ingredients |
| Eco-friendly | In-Store Recycling Program, donations for vegan dog food |
| Where to buy? | Amazon |
We hope this article is valuable and helps you refresh your cruelty free skin care routine with these amazing cruelty free and vegan skin care brands.
Now, we’d like to hear from you! What are your favorite cruelty free and vegan skin care brands?
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