Why choose vegan beauty products?

Vegan: a word that has been on the front pages of women's magazines and websites for some years now, and that everyone seems to have on their lips! We're now talking about vegan food, vegan textiles, vegan cosmetics... A real vegan craze seems to have swept through France. However, far from being a mere fad, veganism - i.e. the practice of not using any products or ingredients of animal origin - marks an awareness and a desire to consume better, in a responsible, ethical and sustainable way. At Polaar, we've been choosing for years to offer you as many animal-free products as possible. It's time to tell you more about our vegan approach, which reflects our commitment to preserving polar biodiversity and the environment in general.

What are vegan beauty products?

Contrary to popular belief, the concept of veganism is not a recent one! The term, which is a contraction of the English word "vegetarian", was coined in the 1940s to refer to living without exploiting animals. The arrival of the word "vegan" in France is fairly recent, having appeared here a few years ago to gradually replace the term "vegan" previously used in France. We also speak of vegan products, with a French spelling!

The word vegan therefore refers to a product free from ingredients of animal origin. Food, cosmetics, clothes and even furniture and home decor can all be vegan! The idea? To renounce everything that comes from animals in order to preserve their well-being, and to refuse their commodification and exploitation. Vegan cosmetics and personal care products therefore contain no animal-derived ingredients whatsoever.

For example, you won't find beehive products such as honey, propolis or beeswax, nor donkey's milk, snail slime, lanolin (from sheep's hair) or animal squalene (found in shark liver)....

We don't always know it, but the colorants used to give a cream or make-up product a pretty hue can also be of animal origin. This is the case with carmine red (CI 45470), which is obtained by crushing the bodies and eggs of cochineals, a small insect similar to an aphid.

Vegan cosmetics brands are committed to finding natural alternatives to these ingredients in their formulations. For example, keratin, naturally present in skin and hair, can be derived from poultry feathers, sheep's wool, hooves, horn or animal skin. Vegan shampoos therefore favor a plant-based version of keratin, which can also be derived from wheat!

The same goes for squalene, a well-known ingredient for restoring and protecting the skin barrier. It is extracted from shark liver using methods that are often barbaric, resulting in the death or mistreatment of the animal. Its plant-based version, phytosqualene, most often derived from olive oil, is an excellent alternative for enjoying its benefits without decimating marine fauna...

And of course, these vegetable or synthetic alternatives have nothing to envy the animal versions: they are just as effective and pleasant, and their quality is equal to or even superior to that of non-vegan ingredients!

Another important aspect of vegan skincare products is that they are not tested on animals. This is the principle behind cruelty-free skincare products, which have not been tested on our animal friends. Be careful, however: a vegan skincare product is always cruelty-free, but a cruelty-free or organic skincare product is not necessarily vegan!

To find your way around, you can rely on the various vegan labels that appear on product packaging, or the "Vegan" words that are often highlighted on packaging.

Polaar, a vegan and cruelty-free brand

The Polaar brand is intimately linked to the nature and richness of the Far North, which brand creator Daniel Kurbiel was able to discover and appreciate from an early age. His parents, polar explorers, made him aware from an early age of environmental issues and the need to preserve the precious assets offered by Arctic landscapes. So naturally, the brand chose to ban as many animal-derived ingredients as possible, preferring their natural alternatives, while reducing its ecological footprint as much as possible.

Aware of man's disproportionate impact on nature, from the outset we have drawn up a strict charter concerning the selection and harvesting of the active ingredients used in our products. We have set up responsible harvesting chains, working with local producers, and we collaborate with scientific organizations to preserve the environment of the Far North, which has so much to offer us. Respect and naturalness are our daily leitmotiv!

The proof is in our desire to constantly improve our formulations to achieve maximum naturalness. In full transparency, we can certify that all Polaar face and body care ranges are vegan, with the exception of our Lip Balm, which contains beeswax. Our teams are working hard to rework its formulation and bring you a vegan version of this product very soon, as is the case for our Hand Cream The Genuine Lapland Cream, whose INCI list has been revised for 2020!

Choosing vegan beauty products is more than just following a trend: it's a commitment to preserving the animal world and saying no to its over-exploitation. Opting for greater naturalness is a choice that's part of a sensible, sustainable and ecological way of consuming. We at Polaar are delighted to be able to support you in this approach by offering you a vegan beauty routine that respects your skin and the environment!