A Complete Guide to Vegan and Cruelty-Free K-Beauty Products

Are there vegan K-Beauty products? Yes, they exist! Here, we detail which products are vegan, what the vegan certifications are and why 100% of Korean products are cruelty-free.

We talk about K-Beauty so much that a recent conversation with a vegan friend about K-Beauty really got us thinking. We asked if he had ever tried K-Beauty products and he said no, explaining: “I thought they weren’t vegan.”

It's a fair assumption. Korean beauty is known, like other countries, for incorporating products such as bee extracts, honey, snail extract and milk into its products. But, with Korea's recent initiative to become completely cruelty- free, some Korean beauty brands have changed their product formulas to only use animal-free ingredients, catering to the vegan public. So we put together some research and here's what we found:

What defines a vegan product?

It's important to talk about what it really means to be vegan. Veganism is a lifestyle that excludes the use of animal products for food, clothing, or other purposes (including skin care and makeup). Vegan products cannot contain egg, milk, snail extract, bee extract, including honey and real propolis, or any other product of animal origin.

And what is cruelty-free ?

Vegan is not synonymous with cruelty-free, contrary to popular belief. Cruelty-free implies that at any stage of development, a product has not been tested on animals. It is possible for a product to be vegan but not cruelty-free and vice versa; however, many vegans consider products to be non-vegan if they are tested on animals. There are several warnings for this, so it is very important to know how to differentiate them.

In 2018, Korea required all of its cosmetics and skincare brands to be cruelty-free.

Becoming certified involves a certification process and can be expensive. Many certifications must also be renewed every year and require constant product inspections. To be certified as vegan, products must be manufactured according to a set of rules and standards. That is why it is so important to find out which brands have these practices and check the product packaging to see if they have the seals before purchasing a product.

Why switch to vegan products?

There are many people who use vegan products without adopting a plant-based diet. It is important to remember that health is not limited to just one habit, just like the health of your skin care. It's a myth that many people have that vegan products are less effective than non-vegan products, simply based on formulations. There are definitely a few reasons why vegans are worth trying:

1. If you have sensitive skin or skin prone to irritation

Sensitive skin can often be irritated by synthetic and chemical ingredients, even with products that claim to be hypoallergenic or organic. This happens because these products continue to use traditionally synthetic ingredients such as parabens, alcohol, detergents, fragrances and many others. Vegan products are more likely to be formulated without them and instead use natural ingredients (it's also worth remembering that organic is not synonymous with vegan).

2. Plant-derived formulations generally have more vitamins, minerals and antioxidants

We hear all the time that eating products closer to their natural state, like raw fruits and vegetables, is generally healthier because none of the nutrients are lost. The same applies to your skin care products. Vegan skin care often uses ingredients that are closer to their natural, pure state, increasing their effectiveness over synthetic products.

3. If you are trying to do less harm to the environment with your purchases

There are studies done on whether the vegan lifestyle is actually less harmful to the environment, and, to be fair, there is no conclusive decision yet. In general, it may be more ethical, but there are ecological issues in the world that unfortunately do not depend solely on this lifestyle, such as reducing carbon emissions into the atmosphere. Because vegan products do not use animal products or by-products and tend to be more cruelty-free and environmentally friendly, they are generally more guilt-free. However, thinking about these choices consciously is still a productive and positive step.

So which K-Beauty brands are actually vegan or have vegan products?

Although veganism is still a fairly recent phenomenon in Korea, vegan products and brands actually exist. We've highlighted a few brands and some of our favorite products below:

COSRX

You'll be happy to know that the brand is cruelty-free and many of its most beloved products—aside from its honey and snail extract lines, of course—are vegan.

Klairs

All Klairs products are vegan, with the exception of Manuka Honey & Choco Body Soap and Klairs Midnight Blue Calming Cream. Klairs is also cruelty-free and does not test on animals.

Mamonde

Mamonde's line of flower-infused products are certified vegan. Some favorites are the Petal Spa Oil to Foam Cleanser, a divine-smelling oil and foam cleanser in one, and the Floral Hydro Eye Gel Cream, a refreshing, cooling treatment for the undereye area.

I'm From

This skincare brand makes it easy to know the origin of the main ingredient and the name of the farm where it was harvested. And there are many popular products based on vitamins, minerals, mugwort which is known for its detoxifying effect, tea tree oil, among others.

Melixir

It is one of the only 100% plant-based Korean brands that invests heavily in development research to create products with better performance in functionality and texture than products of animal origin. With lines designed for people with acne, allergic and sensitive skin.

And that's not all! Want to shop even more vegan K-Beauty brands and products? Check out Bykorea Beauty's complete vegan collection.

So, did you like our tips? So take advantage and learn more about this new trend in the cosmetics market!

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