These days, it’s almost impossible not to be aware of vegans. However, when most people hear the term, they picture it applied to people’s diets. The reality is that this is only one aspect of being vegan.
Prioritizing plant-based products can also extend into the world of hair care. But precisely what is vegan hair care? And why should you consider prioritizing it in your life?
In this guide, we’ll be doing a deep dive into these questions and more. That way, you can make the decision about whether you want to go vegan with your daily hair routine.
What Are Vegan Hair Care Products?
Before we proceed, we must first establish what vegan hair care products are. At its essence, when a hair product is vegan, it means that there are no ingredients that are derived from animals.
It’s common for animal products to be found in hair care products. Some common ones include:
- Collagen
- Bee’s wax
- Silk
- Honey
- Keratin
- Biotin
There’s no denying that these ingredients provide some benefits when applied to hair. But as we’ll see, these products aren’t just exploitive on the animals that provide them, but they’re also quite bad for the environment.
That’s why many people are making the lifestyle decision to switch to vegan hair products.
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Benefits of Vegan Hair Care Products
It takes a lot of work to search out and find vegan hair care products. So what are some of the benefits that come when you invest in these types of products? First, most vegan products are all-natural.
That means you don’t need to worry about artificial chemicals being present, like sodium Laureth sulfate (or SLES) and sodium lauryl sulfate (or SLS). It’s pretty common to see these two ingredients in animal-derived hair care products.
That’s a problem because they’re not even good for your hair. When most people use these ingredients, they can dry out the follicles on their scalps. Combining this with the fact that they also increase oil production can lead to severe scalp irritation and even hair loss.
Next, vegan hair care products tend to be much better for the environment. For one thing, they aren’t taking advantage of animals that contribute a lot of waste products and land usage. That means fewer greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
On top of that, many vegan companies use biodegradable ingredients. It’s also common practice to use recycled material in vegan packaging products. These facts mean that using vegan hair care products can significantly reduce your carbon footprint levels.
Tired of hair care sellers that don’t prioritize vegan ingredients? Please find out more about Lion Locs and how we’re making a difference in the hair industry.
How Are Vegan and Cruelty-Free Products Different?
You would think that if a product is vegan, no animals were harmed at any point in the manufacturing process. Sadly, that’s not the case. The reality is that just because a product has vegan ingredients doesn’t mean the manufacturer didn’t test it on animals.
At any stage of product development, hair companies might use animals to test out aspects of their products. That means that some products marketed as vegan still test everything on animals in an unethical way.
However, this is some hope for the future. Many states are passing legislation that bans the sale of products that have been used on animals.
So how do you possibly avoid these products? Look for labels that say cruelty-free. This is generally a good sign that the company doesn’t test its products on animals.
How to Find the Best Vegan Hair Care Products
It’s not hard to find vegan hair care products containing no animal-derived ingredients. Unfortunately, finding vegan products that work with your hair can be challenging.
In this section, we’ll explain everything you need to know when searching for the best vegan hair products.
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1. Do Your Research
You can’t expect to go to the store and find the perfect vegan hair product. So do your research beforehand. Search for companies like Lion Locs that prioritize plant-based ingredients in our products.
2. Read the Label
Before you buy a hair care product, read the back label. Keep a lookout for any ingredients that might come from animals. If something contains natural plant ingredients, like our Advanced Rose Water Spray Treatment, it’s a good sign.
3. Give It a Trial Run
Just because a product is vegan doesn’t necessarily mean it will work with your hair. So buy small and test it out before you invest a lot of money into it. Experimenting will help you find the best products for your hair needs.
Want to find some of the best black-owned loc products on the market? Check out our guide to find some great suggestions.
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The Importance of Vegan Hair Care
No one likes to imagine that their hair care products are actively harming animals. Sadly, this has become standard practice in the industry. As this article points out, harmful shampoos are often applied to the eyes of rabbits for weeks on end.
This is done to discover any adverse side effects, like blindness and eye damage. And that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Here at Lion Locs, we believe you can have great hair products that don’t affect the lives of the animals we live with.
Our products, like our 2-in-1 Co-Wash for Dreadlocks, contain only natural, plant-derived ingredients. So if you want great hair that doesn’t weigh on your moral conscience, consider investing in vegan hair care today.