Vegan Alternatives

Today many consumers demand hair and skin products as well as cosmetics be made without animal by-products.  If you are considering this option, or even if you have switched to vegan, the chart below will help you understand ingredients and gives you alternatives to look for in your beauty products. There are many great hair and skin care vegan products you will love, including Surface, Hempz and DermOrganic.

Ingredient	What it is	Vegan Alternatives
Amino Acids	The building block of protein in all animals and plants.	Oil Oil, Wheat Germ Oil. Coconut Oil, Flaxseed Oil, Almond Oil, Safflower Oil.
Arachidonic Acid	A liquid unsaturated fatty acid that is found in liver, brain, glands, and fat of animals and humans. Generally isolated from animal liver.  Used in creams to soothe eczema and rashes.	synthetics, aloe vera, tea tree oil, calendula ointment.
Carotene (Provitamin A) Beta Carotine	A pigment found in many animal tissues and in all plants.  Used as a coloring in cosmetics and in the manufacture of vitamin A.	This is generally derived from plant products.
Cetyl Alcohol	Wax originally found in spermaceti from sperm whales or dolphins but now most often derived from petroleum	vegetable cetyl alcohol (e.g., coconut), synthetic spermaceti
Collagen	Fibrous protein in vertebrates. Usually derived from animal tissue. Can't affect the skin's own collagen. An allergen.	Alternatives: soy protein, almond oil, amla oil
Cysteine, L-Form.	An amino acid from hair that can come from animals. Used in hair-care products and creams.	plant sources.
Fatty Acids	Can be one or any mixture of liquid and solid acids such as caprylic, lauric, myristic, oleic, palmitic, and stearic. Used in bubble baths, lipsticks, soap, detergents, cosmetics, food.	vegetable-derived acids, soy lecithin, safflower oil, bitter almond oil, sunflower oil, etc.
Fish Scales	Used in shimmery makeup	mica, rayon, synthetic pearl.
Glycerin. Glycerol.	A byproduct of soap manufacture (normally uses animal fat). In cosmetics, foods, mouthwashes, chewing gum, toothpastes, soaps, ointments, medicines, lubricants, transmission and brake fluid, and plastics. Derivatives: Glycerides, Glyceryls, Glycreth-26, Polyglycerol	vegetable glycerin (a byproduct of vegetable oil soap), derivatives of seaweed, petroleum.
Hyaluronic Acid.	When animal-derived, a protein found in umbilical cords and the fluids around the joints. Used in cosmetics	synthetic hyaluronic acid, plant oils.
Keratin.	Protein from the ground-up horns, hooves, feathers, quills, and hair of various animals. In hair rinses, shampoos, permanent wave solutions	almond oil, soy protein, amla oil (from the fruit of an Indian tree), human hair from salons. Rosemary and nettle give body and strand strength to hair.
Lactic Acid	Typically derived from plants such as beets. When animal-derived, found in blood and muscle tissue.	plant milk sugars, synthetics.
Lanolin. Lanolin Acids. Wool Fat. Wool Wax.	A product of the oil glands of sheep, extracted from their wool. Used as an emollient in many skin-care products and cosmetics .) Derivatives: Aliphatic Alcohols, Cholesterin, Isopropyl Lanolate, Laneth, Lanogene, Lanolin Alcohols, Lanosterols, Sterols, Triterpene Alcohols	plant and vegetable oils.
Lipoids. Lipids.	Fat and fat-like substances that are found in animals and plants	vegetable oils.
Milk Protein	Hydrolyzed milk protein. From the milk of cows. In cosmetics, shampoos, moisturizers, conditioners,	soy protein, other plant proteins
Myristic Acid.	Organic acid typically derived from nut oils but occasionally of animal origin. Used in shampoos, creams, cosmetics.Derivatives: Isopropyl Myristate, Myristal Ether Sulfate, Myristyls, Oleyl Myristate.	nut butters, oil of lovage, coconut oil, extract from seed kernels of nutmeg
Oleic Acid.	Obtained from various animal and vegetable fats and oils. Usually obtained commercially from inedible tallow. (See Tallow.) In foods, soft soap, bar soap, permanent wave solutions, creams, nail polish, lipsticks, many other skin preparations. Derivatives: Oleyl Oleate, Oleyl Stearate.	coconut oil.
Palmitic Acid.	A fatty acid most commonly derived from palm oil but may be derived from animals as well. In shampoos, shaving soaps, creams. Derivatives: Palmitate, Palmitamine, Palmitamide.	vegetable sources
Panthenol. Dexpanthenol. Vitamin B-Complex Factor. Provitamin B-5.	Can come from animal or plant sources or synthetics. In shampoos, supplements, emollientsDerivative: Panthenyl	synthetics, plants
Polypeptides.	From animal protein. Used in cosmetics	plant proteins and enzymes.
Spermaceti. Cetyl Palmitate. Sperm Oil.	Waxy oil originally derived from the sperm whale's head or from dolphins but now most often derived from petroleum.	synthetic spermaceti, jojoba oil, and other vegetable emollients.
Squalene	Oil from shark livers, etc. In cosmetics, moisturizers, hair dyes, surface-active agents.	vegetable emollients such as olive oil, wheat germ oil, rice bran oil
Stearic Acid	When animal-derived, a fat from cows, pigs, and sheep and from dogs and cats euthanized in animal shelters, etc. Derivatives: Stearamide, Stearamine, Stearates, Stearic Hydrazide, Stearone, Stearoxytrimethylsilane, Stearoyl Lactylic Acid, Stearyl Betaine, Stearyl Imidazoline.	Stearic acid can be found in many vegetable fats, coconut, cocoa butter and shea butter
Stearyl Alcohol. Sterols	A mixture of solid alcohols. Can be prepared from sperm whale oil.Derivates: Stearamine Oxide, Stearyl Acetate, Stearyl Caprylate, Stearyl Citrate, Stearyldimethyl Amine, Stearyl Glycyrrhetinate, Stearyl Heptanoate, Stearyl Octanoate, Stearyl Stearate	plant sources, vegetable stearic acid.
Urea. Carbamide	Typically synthetic. When extracted from animals, it is excreted from urine and other bodily fluids.	synthetics.