Veganuary Beyond Your Plate: Why Your Beauty Routine Matters Too
Every January, millions of people around the world take part in Veganuary, a global movement encouraging people to try a vegan lifestyle for the month of January.
For many, Veganuary begins (and ends) with food and while that shift is powerful, it’s only part of the picture.
Because being vegan isn’t only about switching to a plant-based diet.
This Veganuary, I’m inviting you to look beyond food and into your beauty routine, because what we put on our skin matters just as much as what we put into our bodies.
For beauty lovers especially, this is where one of the biggest blind spots exists.
What Is Veganuary (and Why It Matters)?
Veganuary is a global campaign that began in the UK in 2014 and has since grown into a worldwide movement. Its goal is simple:
Encourage people to try a vegan lifestyle for the month of January.
People participate for many reasons including concern for animals, environmental impact, health and wellbeing and curiosity or alignment with personal values.
At its core, Veganuary is about awareness and once awareness is raised, choice follows.
When we learn where our food comes from, many of us naturally question the systems behind it. But food is only one way animals are exploited in modern life.
Which brings us to beauty.
The Overlooked Side of Veganuary: Beauty & Cosmetics
For many people, animal testing and animal-derived ingredients in beauty feel like something from the past.
Surely we’ve moved on by now… right?
Sadly, animals are still harmed for cosmetics every single day, often hidden behind clever marketing, greenwashing and “cruelty free” fine print.
Beauty is deeply personal. It’s ritual, creativity, self-expression. But it’s also an industry and one that has long relied on animals in ways many consumers aren’t aware of.
Veganuary offers an opportunity to widen the lens and ask:
If I’m choosing compassion with my food, does my beauty routine reflect the same values?
Cruelty Free Doesn’t Always Mean Vegan
This is one of the most important and most misunderstood concepts in ethical beauty.
A product can be certified cruelty free and still contain animal-derived ingredients.
This can be confusing, misleading, and for many people, deeply confronting once they realise it.
Common animal-derived ingredients still used in cosmetics include:
- Beeswax (lip balms, mascaras)
- Lanolin (lip products, hand creams)
- Carmine (red and pink pigments made from crushed beetles)
- Snail mucin (skincare)
- Fish-derived collagen
- Collagen, keratin, gelatin
- Salmon sperm (yes, really)
A cruelty free label only tells us that the finished product or ingredients were not tested on animals. It does not guarantee that animals weren’t used, exploited or harmed for the ingredients themselves.
This is where vegan beauty matters.
The Question We’re Rarely Asked to Consider
When a product contains animal-derived ingredients, there are important questions we’re rarely encouraged to ask:
- Where did it come from?
- Was the animal harmed?
- What happened to the animal after its “use”?
- Who decides what “ethically sourced” means?
Many brands claim their animal-derived ingredients are ethically harvested, but there is no universal standard, and transparency is often limited.
When animals are involved, we can’t always know the full story.
Vegan beauty removes that uncertainty entirely.
Why Vegan Beauty Is One of the Most Powerful Swaps You Can Make
Switching to vegan beauty is one of the simplest yet most impactful ways to reduce animal suffering.
Why? Because they don't contain animal-derived ingredients and there is no reliance on farming, harvesting or extraction from animals.
It’s compassion without compromise.
And unlike food, beauty products are often things we buy repeatedly which means every swap has ongoing impact.
One mascara. One lip balm. One moisturiser.
Small choices add up.
The Hidden Harm of Greenwashing in Beauty
Another reason Veganuary matters beyond food is greenwashing.
Terms like:
- “Clean”
- “Natural”
- “Green”
- “Ethical”
- “Sustainable”
…are largely unregulated in the beauty industry.
A product can look earthy, sound wholesome and still contain animal-derived ingredients, contribute to animal suffering and rely on opaque supply chains.
Clean beauty isn’t truly clean if cruelty is hidden behind clever marketing.
Veganuary encourages us to question labels and beauty is no exception.
Veganuary Is About Awareness, Not Perfection
One of the most important things to remember is this:
Veganuary is not about doing everything perfectly.
It’s about becoming aware and then choosing better when you can.
You don’t need to overhaul your entire beauty collection overnight.
You don’t need to throw everything away.
You don’t need to get it “right” immediately.
You can finish what you already own, replace products as they run out and start with one conscious swap.
Awareness leads to alignment. Alignment leads to change.
How to Start a Vegan Beauty Routine (Without Overwhelm)
If you’re new to vegan beauty, here are a few gentle starting points:
- Start with one product: Mascara, lip balm or cleanser are great places to begin.
- Look for certified logos: Vegan and Cruelty Free certification removes guesswork.
- Read ingredient lists: Especially if a brand isn’t 100% vegan.
- Support curated retailers: Shopping from stores that have already done the research saves time, energy and overwhelm (hello, Wild & Cruelty Free!)
- Ask questions: Conscious brands welcome transparency.
Why I Created Wild & Cruelty Free
I created Wild & Cruelty Free because I know how overwhelming this journey can be.
I’ve spent countless hours researching brands, decoding fine print and learning where beauty intersects with harm and I wanted to create a space where you don’t have to do that work alone.
Every product stocked is:
- Vegan
- Cruelty Free
- Australian Owned
- Female Founded
- Tried and trusted by me
So you can shop with confidence, knowing no animal suffered for your vanity.
Veganuary is a Beginning, Not a box to tick off
A plant-based lifestyle is rooted in compassion. When we carry that intention into our beauty routines, the impact multiplies.
Veganuary isn’t just a month.
It’s an invitation to live more consciously.
Beyond your plate.
Beyond labels.
Beyond what we’ve been taught to accept.
Because when we know better, we do better - for animals, for the planet, and for ourselves.
Ready to Explore Vegan Beauty?
If Veganuary has you questioning your beauty routine, you’re in the right place.
Explore a curated collection of vegan, cruelty free beauty at Wild & Cruelty Free - where kindness is never optional.
To make Vegan and Cruelty Free Beauty Shopping even easier check out my custom Cruelty Free Beauty Cheat Sheets and shop with confidence knowing that the beauty brands you purchase from are always kind and never cruel!