Although beard care products are still finding their footing in the mainstream market, similar compounds have been available for centuries. From a producer’s standpoint, beard care products are closely related to other hair and skin care cosmetics. They all share an established ingredient pool that has been proven to be beneficial for cosmetic use.
There is no shortage of existing data available regarding the ingredients that are used in modern hair and skin care products. This means that companies can formulate and produce safe and effective products without unnecessary testing. Laboratory testing can be an expensive and time-consuming process. In the case of animal testing, it is also an unnecessary, cruel and archaic undertaking.
While it has never been without controversy, animal testing was once considered to be the safest and most reliable method of testing available for cosmetic products. This is no longer the case, with the advent of modern technology and advances in scientific knowledge we are now capable of producing exposure data based on accurate models of human physiology that is safer, faster, more reliable and ethically superior to data collected through animal testing studies. That means products using new formulas with innovative ingredients can use reliable and cruelty-free testing methods to ensure the safety and effectiveness of their products. In truth, every ingredient currently being used in a modern skin or hair care product being sold on the regulated market has already been tested and approved for use in cosmetics. Although each beard care product is unique in its formulation most of the ingredients used to make it are not. As most of these ingredients are already proven safe further laboratory testing is not necessary to ensure their suitability for cosmetic use.
It is important that you recognize the ethical value of purchasing beard care products that have not been tested on animals. Although a growing number of producers and their vendors no longer utilize animal testing there are still companies who chose to funnel your purchase dollars into animal testing trials. There is no benefit to continued animal testing and every product purchased from companies using them supports outdated, inhumane and abusive practices by uninformed and unethical companies. By refusing to support these companies you can end these trials and stop the unnecessary suffering.
As a consumer, your purchasing decisions decide the ethical and moral climate of your local industry. Animal testing is an outdated, inaccurate and unnecessarily cruel method of testing that does not, in any way, increase the safety, value or quality of your beard care products. It is your responsibility to show companies that animal testing is not required and is not an alternative to safer, more accurate modern testing. Producers of beard care products can rely on humane testing and pre-existing data to ensure the safety and quality of their products.