Crazy Cat Lady

A few nights ago, I was doing some insomnia driven Facebooking, when I stumbled across a photo that made me physically ill. I’m not going to show you all that photo because frankly, I wish I hadn’t seen it myself and had instead just read about the issue. But… to kind of set the scene: Medical arena, people wearing scrubs and masks, metal shelving with live cats strapped to stretchers, bellies shaved, totally defenseless. What. The. F.

I’d be lying if I told you that I’d never heard of animal testing. I guess, like many of the rest of us, I had been blissfully oblivious until I saw that picture. Oblivious by choice. I’m kind of mad at myself for that. I took to google to see if that photo was legit, and unfortunately, my findings were worse. They revealed cats, bunnies, mice and rats with bad chemical burns, eyes swollen shut. You get the picture. It’s awful. To make the photos that much more impactful, I viewed them with my baby Charlie laying asleep by my head (her nightly spot of choice), twitching occasionally from innocent kitty dreams. How on earth could anyone look at a creature like a cat or a bunny (or anything!!!!!) and do something so cruel?

Listen, I get that no one wants to go buy a bottle of shampoo only to wake up with their scalp burned off the next day BUT, there are other testing options out there, like imitation skin. (And like humans who can say, “OW! That hurts/burns/itches!” and also have like… fists to punch you in your stupid face.) Anyway, my cat Charlie is the little furry alien guardian of my house (I love adjectives). She literally spends more time at my home than I do. And seeing as I come home and everything is just as I left it, at least she puts things back in their places when she’s done. She (and queen LK) are the number one reason(s) I won’t use a dollar of my money to fund animal testing. I know that I, alone, can’t stop anything, but I’m sure as hell not going to help it.

So… what products and brands are you using that practice animal testing? I spent most of that night researching to tell you the answer: a crap ton. A literal crap ton of stuff that you’re using is compromising fuzzy animal lives.

Here is an absolutely exhausting, but very organized list from PETA. Using that link, you can pull up PDFs of companies that do practice animal testing, or ones that don’t. You can also search by brand.

(*Disclaimer: I promise you, I am not generally this hippy dippy. And if you are, GO YOU! Seriously, I’m not knocking it, I’m just not the most environmentally friendly human out there.)

Luckily though, I found what I think is a much more concise and relevant list (based on popular brands that my friends and I use) here.

I was really thrilled to see that some of my all time favorites made the nice list! And I’m equally saddened to tell you that some of them (ones I’ve even recommended you use! wahhhh!!!) are very much on the naughty list.

After discovering the Voldemort of photos, I spent the rest of the night (cause #insomnia) searching for the best personal and beauty products and brands that don’t practice animal testing. That morning, I took a trip to Whole Foods, which I am usually very much opposed to because they are robbing people blind, seriously. However, they only sell cruelty free personal and beauty products, so, “You go, Glenn Coco.” I went to check out the selection, so even if I thought I could get a better deal elsewhere, I’d at least have some familiarity with the brands I was looking for. As it turns out, their prices were comparable to Kroger and Target. Things varied a few cents here and there. Some slightly more expensive at Whole Foods, some at Kroger. If you’re with me on this, check labels for a little drawing of a bunny or straight up, No: Animal Testing.

And without further ado:

Products You Should Consider Ditching and Their Hopeful Replacements

1. Clinique. Womp. This one really bums me out, but I am happy to tell you that I have been using Proactiv+ for my acne prone skin, and the whole Proactiv line doesn’t test on animals. The Green Tea Moisturizer is also a great alternative to Clinique’s gel moisturizers.
2. Dove. Double womp. I’ve been addicted to their Daily Moisture conditioner for years, and I just bought like a gallon of it, unfortunately. Here’s a list of the best cruelty free shampoos and conditioners based on your hair type. Not mentioned on this list is Jason, which I’m going to try first, as I’ve read some good reviews.
3. M.A.C (and so many other favorite makeup brands). I’m rather pleased to share though, that Bare Minerals makes the nice list. I’ve been using this by my doctor’s recommendation. Browse through their website and you will discover that Bare Minerals isn’t all loose powders and mess. I just ordered a few products from their READY line and am excited to give them a try!
4. Jergens. Orignal scent Jergins is my go-to, but I was happy to see that Palmer’s made the cut. I’ve always kept a supply of their giant chapstick, and a bottle of their lotion in my purse. All of their products smell like hot chocolate, which you obviously can’t beat. Also, I recently bought a Palmer’s Dark Chocolate & Mint chapstick, yum!
5. ?Aquaphor? Now this one, I’m confused about. As I mentioned before, Aquaphor is sort of my winter lifeline, so I was bummed to see Eucerin (Aquaphor’s mom) on the naughty list. I was so distraught actually, that I sent Eucerin an email at 3am. They wordily assured me that they do not practice animal testing. However, I get the feeling that they danced around my question and instead assured me that they do not test the final product on animals, rather just the ingredients individually. I cannot promise the validity of that, but that’s the impression I got. Anyway, while I’m debating and researching the honesty of their response, I’m trying alba’s un-petrolium. It seems to do the same job for moisture, but may be slightly lacking in the healing department.

Anyway, for me, those were the whoppers, but there are tons of awesome brands that I was already using, and will continue to use even more confidently now that I know they’ll be getting gifts from Santa next Christmas! To name a few:

NYX, Yes to _______ (fill the blank with fruit or veggie), Lush, Burt’s Bees, Urban Decay, (my girl!) Sally Hansen, e.l.f., Murad, Tom’s, and Laura Mercier.

Let’s stand up for our furry friends!!

Oh, and someone please let me know if you find a fur baby friendly alternative to Cetaphil.

xoxo crazycatlady4E