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Aveeno Cruelty-Free Review – Our Assessment!

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Dear Nicki,

I love the calming properties of oatmeal the Aveeno lotions and how amazingly soft it makes my skin. Are there any similar products that are cruelty-free?

-L

Dear L,

You are right: According to PETA, Aveeno (Johnson & Johnson) is one of the many U.S.-based brands that still does test on animals.

While toxicity testing is a blessing for the American consumer, animals do not need to be involved. Skin and cell culture, mathematical and scientific modeling, and other methods are commonly employed by cruelty-free brands to test the safety and efficacy of products. The proof it can be done is alive in Europe: Starting in 2009, the E.U. initiated a complete sales ban on animal-tested products that became effective in 2013.

On the other side of the equation, this increases costs to the consumer eventually, as laboratory rats are far less expensive than, say, human skin grafts or advanced skin computer modeling. Yet many women I have talked to would rather pay more for products that were not tested on animals.

One source of debate: Many published scientific studies also sacrifice animals; some scientists consider it to be more or less necessary to do so in order to further scientific progress. Is it moral to do so only to better understand and find cures for disorders like cancer, heart disease, and the like? Or are the safety of cosmetics and skin care products included in this?

What Are Cruelty-Free Substitutes For My Favorite Lotions?

If you firmly don’t believe in animal testing, don’t worry – there are existing alternatives. Here are some substitutes for tried-and-true favorites:

Instead of Aveeno Active Naturals Moisturizing Bar, try Yardley Oatmeal Almond Soap. Aveeno leaves your skin admittedly a bit more soothed, as Johnson & Johnson’s colloidal oatmeal is just exquisite. But Yardley makes a fine substitute.

Instead of Neutrogena Healthy Skin Anti-Wrinkle Cream, try upgrading your retinol to a potent cruelty-free one like Peter Thomas Roth Retinol Fusion or FutureDerm Time-Release Retinol 0.5, 0.75, or 1.0.  So there’s quite a price differential between the Neutrogena and the others here, and I apologize for that. But the Neutrogena is pretty weak — I estimate less than 0.025% retinol with my best guess. It does work, it just takes a long time to do so.

Truth be told, the only cruelty-free drugstore brand retinol for $15 or less at this time is Derma-E, and that is retinyl palmitate, which is 20 times weaker than retinol. Boo!

Instead of Nair hair removal, try Jolen Creme Bleach. An easy switch for hair removal that actually smells better anyway.

Unfortunately, at this time, I can’t find substitute cruelty-free alternatives to certain favorites like Olay Regenerist (with niacinamide and peptides) or Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Sunscreen SPF 100.

One interesting fact: Most ingredients that are in “cruelty-free” products were originally tested on animals by other companies at one time or another. It’s nearly impossible to find a product or ingredient that hasn’t been deemed safe via animal testing at some point. Still, we’re doing our part at FutureDerm not to test on animals, and to encourage others to stop as well.

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About Myself

Nicki Zevola is the founder and editor-in-chief of FutureDerm.com. Named one of the top 30 beauty bloggers in the world by Konector.com since 2009, Nicki

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