Is COSRX Cruelty Free?

Shelia Swartz

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COSRX is a solid brand with great products that will solve your skin problems. It’s an added bonus to know that they are also cruelty-free. When a product is cruelty-free, it feels good to use, knowing that animals are harmed to create some cosmetic products is a disturbing thought. So it’s best to stick to COSRX and other brands that openly say that they are cruelty-free.

What is COSRX?

One of South Korea’s biggest skincare brands, known worldwide for their effectiveness in solving skin problems, and a favorite of many skincare fanatics—that is COSRX.

With a brand name coined from cosmetics and medicine, they give a solution to their customers’ skin issues. They are proud to use safe and natural ingredients in their products.

Overall, COSRX is a solid skincare brand. With an admirable belief in the inner skin’s beauty and dedication to using only natural ingredients.

But no brand is perfect—some skin types might not agree well with a specific product and that is completely normal. However, when skincare gets involved in your own personal beliefs, that’s when things get fuzzy.

Many people nowadays are switching to vegan, cruelty-free brands to help the environment and animals. It’s a wonderful way of life that will benefit everyone in the long haul. But it comes with so many restrictions.

Since COSRX is a popular skincare brand, you might want to check if what you’re using is actually cruelty-free or not.

What does cruelty-free mean?

First, we need to understand what being cruelty-free means. Cruelty-free products mean that no beings were harmed in the process of making the product. Animals such as rats or rabbits or apes are usually the ones being tested on. It is a cruel way to test whether the formula is good or not.

Animals do not know much about ethics, but we do. And being cruelty-free is to make use of our ability to think and do our best not to harm another living being.

That said, it is now a global movement to slowly transition into a cruelty-free industry. More skincare brands are now announcing that they are cruelty-free, and most people ask for cruelty-free products when they are out shopping.

But if you are thinking of switching to a cruelty-free lifestyle, you need to do tons of research. For example, you need to look carefully at the packaging for the Leaping Bunny logo. If you see the logo, then it means that the product is cruelty-free and you are free to use it as you wish.

However, beware of cosmetics that are made in China. Their law requires them to test on animals so it’s best not to purchase any of their products as much as possible.

Basically, being cruelty-free means that you are against the use of cosmetics on animals because the formulas can potentially harm them.

What is the difference between cruelty-free and vegan?

It is a popular belief that being cruelty-free and vegan are the same thing. However, these two mean different things despite being similar.

Veganism means that you do not consume or use any animal products or ingredients that come from animals. This type of lifestyle focuses on what ingredients are used in a product. In the context of food, you only eat ones that are made with organic and natural plant ingredients. And in skincare, you only use ones that specifically use natural ingredients.

Meanwhile, having a cruelty-free lifestyle doesn’t necessarily mean you have to be vegan. Vegans don’t drink milk that are derived from cows, but those who have a cruelty-free lifestyle do.

It might be confusing at first but the two have very distinct differences.

COSRX products mostly have plant-based products. You can see that some of their most popular skincare products are made from natural ingredients such as Aloe vera, Centella Asiatica, and galactomytes. These are all-natural and safe for use in your skincare routine. And even better, they are safe to use for vegans!

Snail Mucin

However, COSRX has a line of products that are purely derived from snail mucin—which are highly recommended by skincare gurus. Snail mucin is basically slime that’s from a snail. This slimy material is full of hyaluronic acids, glycolic acids, and allantoin—all of which help keep the skin’s elasticity and soothe irritation. It also helps maintain the skin’s natural hydration.

COSRX’s line of snail mucin products are not for vegans. It’s basically snail extract and is not in any way vegan.

But are they okay for a cruelty-free lifestyle?

The answer is yes!

It has been said that the entirety of COSRX’s collection of products are all safe for a cruelty-free life. The only thing you need to look out for some counterfeit COSRX products that are being sold in online markets. Make sure that whatever you are buying is legitimate!

And to vegans—you can freely use the rest of COSRX’s products, just not the animal-derived ones.

Conclusion

Now we all know the difference between being cruelty-free and vegan. You can be both if you want, but just avoid COSRX’s snail mucin products! The market may offer only a few vegan products, but COSRX still has options for you to choose from.

You can check some of their vegan and cruelty-free products in our article here.

Skincare should be fun and safe, and COSRX provides both of those. Hopefully, you’ve learned enough about COSRX and cruelty-free lifestyles from this article. Maybe you’ll find your holy grail product from their list of vegan and cruelty-free products!

And that’s it!

COSRX is an amazing brand. Offering both vegan and cruelty-free products—it’s a great choice for your skincare routine.

Always make sure that the ingredients you are putting on your face are safe from animal cruelty! It may be challenging to shift from a non-cruelty-free lifestyle, but it is so worth it! Give it a try and you will feel so much better about the products you use on your skin.

Have fun choosing skincare products and have a happy skin day!

Photo of author

Shelia Swartz

Combination Skin Type | Shelia is part of the editorial team over at Beautypickup. She got into skincare because of acne, like most of us. She is super outgoing, she enjoys backpacking and adventuring in the wilds and loves surfing during the summer!

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