Is retinol vegan? And is vegan skincare better for your skin? We bust the vegan beauty myths you need to know

Find it in: Medik8 Crystal Retinal, £39, Look Fantastic

It’s not common for vegan products to be tested on animals, but it is possible. To be 100% assured, truffle out those with official certification from the Vegan Society, Leaping Bunny certification, or products with the US PETA accreditation, which is given to brands that are both vegan and cruelty-free. Animal testing has long been outlawed in Europe, but the Bunny and PETA logos ensure your product is not sold in China, where foreign products are required to tested on animals before they can be sold.

Traditionally this moisturising 'humectant' ingredient came from animal fat. "However glycerin is present in all lipids, both animal and vegetal. It can also be synthetically manufactured, which is the version you’ll find in most modern-day skincare products,” says Begoun. So keep an eye out for either vegetable glycerin (unless derived from unsustainable palm oil) or for glycerin-containing products marked as vegan.

Find it in: Rhug Estate Wild Beauty Rebalancing Skin Tonic with Meadowsweet, £50, Rhug Wild Beauty

Carefully crafted, clinically researched ingredients are good for your skin, whether they be natural or synthetic or vegan. The law forbids dangerous ingredients and there’s exhaustive regulation preventing it. However allergic reactions or adverse effects from overuse can be caused by naturals and synthetics – your skin does not distinguish between the two. However, it's fair to say your conscience may feel a whole lot cleaner.

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You’d think so judging by the name. But this mild exfoliating ingredient that improves skin tone and texture is derived actually from vegetable-based fermentation, so it's vegan. And Begoun adds. "It’s difficult to extract lactic acid from milk and make it stable, hence it tends to be lab-engineered and vegan.”

Find it in: Glossier Solution Exfoliating Skin Perfector, £19, Glossier

When a skincare product claims to contain ‘vegan retinol’ from an actual plant (or ‘phytoretinoid’), you’ll find it’s not retinol but, in most case it’s bakuchiol. A great plant active, it boasts some of the same benefits as retinol, but works in an entirely different way. The same goes for sea fennel (or rock samphire), which, despite being a source of carotenoids and a great skincare ingredient, is not a vegan retinol equivalent, as is often claimed.

Find it in: Paula’s Choice Clinical 0.3% Retinol + 2% Bakuchiol Treatment, £53, Space NK

The vast majority of collagen supplements are derived from fish, and some from cows or pigs. Vegan collagen supplements aim to stimulate the body’s production of collagen; they’re not made from ‘plant collagen’ as this doesn’t exist in nature. In skincare, actual collagen is also animal-derived. One notable exception is Algenist skincare, who have engineered a proprietary ‘vegan collagen’ by teaming algae oil with vegan amino acids that structurally mimic collagen molecules.
However, a word of caution from Begoun, “The claim that large collagen molecules could absorb and bind to the collagen in your skin and reinforce it has been shown to be sheer fantasy.”

Find it in:Algenist Genius Liquid Collagen, £90, Look Fantastic

“Cholesterol is never vegan; it’s not found in the plant world,” confirms Begoun. “But as it’s simply a waxy fat (or lipid), it can easily be replaced by plant-derived omega fatty acids or squalane to give the same moisturising and protecting effect.” Or, says Isaacs, “You can use phytosterols, the plant version of cholesterol, as we do at Medik8.”

Find it in:Ren Clean Skincare Vita Mineral Emollient Rescue Cream, £28, Look Fantastic

“Probiotics are often grown on milk, so can’t be vegan,” says Isaacs. “But there is an alternative that is grown on vegetables, which we use.” So it’s a matter of seeking out vegan brands or ‘vegan probiotics’ specifically.

Find it in:Gallinée Skin & Microbiome Supplement, £30, Gallinée