Cruelty-free skincare is defined as products that have never been tested on animals, including their raw materials.

In recent years, there has been an international focus on seeking out brands that are particularly ethical; that do not test on animals and that have been certified by organizations that can endorse this.

But first we have to ask ourselves, why does animal testing exist?

Brands perform several tests to verify the safety of the products they manufacture, including:

• Acute toxicity testing: Tests to see what the outcome is after exposure to a product, either once or repeatedly.
• Eye and skin irritation tests: Tests to see if application of the product causes irritation.
• Skin sensitivity tests: can be used to detect skin allergies.
• Carcinogenicity testing: Tests to investigate the likelihood that a product will contribute to the development of cancer.
• Reproducibility: to see if a product can interfere with healthy reproduction.
• Developmental toxicity testing: to see if products can interfere with children's development.

Thanks to technological advances, animal testing during the laboratory process is no longer necessary. Import and export laws remain unchanged, as selling a product outside its country of origin requires a certificate stating that the product is safe for human consumption and has been tested for animal use first. Crazy! That's why many brands still have to resolve this issue in their processes.

In Mexico, there is still no program that can certify that animal testing is not carried out. However, they carry out an analysis of the raw materials they use to verify that testing is not carried out, and then they can report it.

In Europe, Canada, Australia, and the US, there are several organizations that endorse a brand or product's cruelty-free status through rigorous research. Some of these are:

• PETA'S Beauty Without Bunnies Program
• Leaping Bunny Certification via CCIC (Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics)
• Leaping Bunny Certification through Cruelty Free International
• Choose Cruelty Free (CCF) *As of June 1, 2021, CCF has merged with Cruelty Free International.

Here's an image from the "Ethical Elephant" website that illustrates the logos very well so you can distinguish them.

At Skin and Tonic, you can distinguish the Cruelty-Free collection with our personalized icon.