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Sustainability Quiz 37: Dubious cosmetic ingredients

Sustainability Quiz 37: Dubious cosmetic ingredients

Sustainability Quiz 37:While it has been widely proven that anti-aging and most other beauty treatments found on shop shelves do absolutely nothing, the pile of 'beauty ingredients' keeps growing, weirdly

Snail trail, beaver bum secretions, fish scales, foreskin stem cells, chicken feet and rooster combs are just a minute few of the hundreds of crazy assed ingredients added to beauty products in the pursuit of beauty, youth and feeling good.



What do snails, beetles, beaver’s bum, fish scales, foreskin cells, shellfish, chicken feet & rooster combs have in common?
    All are cosmetics ingredients
    None are on a Vegan list
    Cochineal bugs
    All of above: ‘Natural’, Non Vegan Cosmetic Ingredients

What are these ingredients supposed to actually do?

What do they do? Apparently, Snail Secretion regenerates skin cells. Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) are foreskin derived stem cell products to improve spots & wrinkles (!) Herring fish scales make shimmer in cosmetics. Shellfish shells are an anti-inflammatory & are moisturising. Chicken feet provide collagen in anti-aging products. Rooster combs boost collagen. 

The skin's tough outer layer protects us

Common sense is arguably an ingredient missing from several beauty products. In all fairness, some things do work, buy many are rubbish. According to dermatologists, our skin’s outer layer does a great job protecting us from the environment. So why would it suddenly let the contents of a over hyped tube easily penetrate our skin?

What can you do?

Drinking plenty of water, eating well and staying fit are the cheapest and most consistent tonics for looking good. The rest is window dressing. If you really want a cupboard full of anti-aging and beauty hope, vegan products at least use less resources. 

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