Following on from our previous article regarding Skincare Ingredients to Avoid, this week we're discussing the potential animal/insect derived ingredients that could be in your skincare products; 'hidden' by misleading names.
The 10 Most Common Animal/Insect-derived Ingredients
- Carmine (also known as Cochineal Dye) - often food in lipsticks and blushers, this is a dye made from crushed beetles. The beetles feed on cactus plants in Central and South America, and when they are crushed, an intense red dye is produced.
- Guanine - a crystalline material found in fish scales which is shimmering and light defusing, guanine is commonly found in highlighters, mascara, nail polishes and lipstick.
- Tallow - otherwise known as rendered animal fat, tallow is produced by a process of boiling down animal carcasses and extracting the fatty substance that is produced. This is then used in many cosmetics including foundation, other makeup bases and mascara. We don't know about you, but we really don't fancy the idea of rubbing fat - of any source, least of all from a dead body - all over our faces...
- Gelatine - also commonly found in food products, gelatine is similar to tallow in that it is the boiled skin, tendons ligaments, bones and even brains of animals, and is used in products including creamy cosmetics and nail polish.
- Lanolin - in short, lanolin is the excretion from wool bearing animals such as sheep (imagine never washing your hair. Ever.), which is then used in makeup removers and lipsticks/lip products.
- Squalene - traditionally taken from the livers of sharks and used in products such as eye makeup and lipsticks for moisture (as a side note, you might have noticed we use squalane in our Olive & Avocado Serum. But fret not, ours is 100% vegan and derived from olives and never sharks!)
- Ambergris - thankfully less commonly used nowadays, ambergris is the waxy substance which lines whales' stomachs, and is used to make the scent 'set' in perfumes.
- Collagen - a fibrous protein from animal tissue which is often touted as having a plumping effect when used in lip glosses etc, when in actual fact it has no proven effect on your own collagen production.
- Estradiol - a hormone-based ingredient found in many perfumes and restorative creams, estradiol is obtained by extracting the urine from pregnant horses!
- Retinol - the ingredient 'of the moment' and found in many anti-aging/moisturising facial creams, retinol is a potent source of vitamin A, but is almost always derived from animals.
Have we got you running to check all your product ingredients now...?