Testing cosmetics on animals

Cosmetic testing on animals is a type of animal testing used to test the safety and hypoallergenic properties of cosmetic products for use by humans. Since this type of animal testing is often harmful to the animal subjects, it is opposed by animal rights activists and others. Cosmetic animal testing is banned in many parts of the world, including Colombia, the European Union, the United Kingdom, India, and Norway. Cosmetics that have been produced without any testing on animals are sometimes known as "cruelty-free cosmetics". Some popular cruelty-free beauty brands include: E.L.F., Charlotte Tilbury, Farsali, Fenty Beauty, Fenty Skin, Glow Recipe and others. The website "Cruelty-Free Kitty" was created to assess which brands are cruelty-free. Furthermore, some brands have participated in animal testing in the past, however, if they currently do not test on animals, these cosmetics are considered "cruelty-free". Using animal testing in the development of cosmetics may involve testing either a finished product or the individual ingredients of a finished product on animals, often rabbits, as well as mice, rats, monkeys, dogs, guinea pigs and other animals. Cosmetics can be defined as products applied to the body to enhance the body's appearance or to cleanse the body. This includes all hair products, makeup, and skin products. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to endorse animal testing methods. Re-using existing test data obtained from previous animal testing is generally not considered to be cosmetic testing on animals; however, the acceptability of this to opponents of testing is inversely proportional to how recent the data is. Methods of testing cosmetics on animals include various tests that are categorized differently based on which areas the cosmetics will be used for. One new ingredient in any cosmetic product used in these tests could lead to the deaths of at least 1,400 animals. Dermal penetration: Rats are mostly used in this method that analyzes chemical movement, through the penetration of the chemical into the bloodstream.