Hair products like hairspray get a bad rep for being bad for the environment, and the planet. What does veganism have to do with hair? Let’s say that you’ve decided that, to do your part to help make the world a bit better, you’re going to become a vegan. You’ve thought about what this means in terms of your diet, and have started buying organic, vegan foods. And you’ve made a commitment to live your entire life according to your principles. You make certain that the products you buy (clothes, shoes, food) are created along those same principles. When you next go shopping, though, out of habit you start to reach for your same old shampoo and conditioner, the ones you really like for hair care. The label says ‘natural’ 
and ‘no animal testing,’ but are they vegan? How can you tell?
The first thing to do is to go online and Google for lists of ingredients commonly found in hair products. You’ll be surprised how many that we see everyday on labels are of animal origin. For example, acetate can be produced from egg yolks or fish liver oils and is found in hair dyes. Casein is produced from the protein found in milk, and is often found as an ingredient in many different hair products.
Even products marked ‘natural’ on the label may still contain some animal based ingredients. One particular example would be a hair brush with natural bristles. These are most likely the bristles from a wild or domestic pig. The best thing to do to be sure you are avoiding purchasing any hair products with animal derived ingredients is to print out a list of such ingredients and take it with you when you next go shopping. You can check the labels of any products you’re interested in, and safely purchase only the truly vegan ones.
The next thing to do is to learn which ingredients which really are natural and vegan are used by the manufacturers of hair products to substitute for the non vegan alternatives. For instance, various vegetable proteins, including those extracted from soy beans, can be substituted for the hydrolyzed animal proteins that are found in many cosmetics and other personal care items. Rosemary and nettle are two vegan, natural substitutes for keratin, a very common ingredient in a wide variety of hair care products which gives body to the hair. In this case, many believe that the vegan ingredients work better than the animal derived one!
As you can see, you can’t just settle for the ‘no animal testing’ sticker on the next hair care products you buy. That’s only the beginning of your commitment to a fully vegan lifestyle.
Photo: djtutusaus
This is a really well researched post, it must of taken you a while to specify exact ingredients, and then tell what their vegan-friendly replacements are(: Here is a completely vegan shampoo, my friend’s mom uses it and says it is great(: