Is Kerastase Cruelty-Free And Vegan?

Kerastase is a French luxury haircare brand that was created in 1964. Kerastase sells cult-favorite hair products for many different hair types and hair concerns, from hair loss and damaged hair to dry hair and fine hair. But what are the brand’s ethical standards? Is Kerastase cruelty-free and vegan?

Unfortunately, Kerastase is not cruelty-free. They test on animals to meet the legal requirements for selling in stores in China, and for that reason, are not cruelty-free.

Kerastase may offer some vegan products, but since they test on animals, they can’t be considered a truly vegan brand.

In this post, we’ll examine Kerastase’s position on animal testing and why it does not make them cruelty-free.

We’ll also learn about their parent company and their policies on animal testing, find out if they have any cruelty-free certifications, and understand why it is significant that they sell in China. Finally, we’ll explore some cruelty-free hair care alternatives.

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Is Kerastase Cruelty-Free?

Kerastase claims on their website, that the L’Oréal (their parent company) group of companies has not made use of animal testing since 1989. They tie this into their broader fundamental objective of offering products that are both of high quality and safe to use by customers.

The research and development teams at Kerastase have been ensuring this safety through means other than testing their products or ingredients on animals.

In spite of this, to assess Kerastase as cruelty-free, we need to take a closer look at the company’s position. One noticeable exception they make to their policy against animal testing is where animal testing is required by regulation of a given country’s authority.

Because Kerastase is known to sell in at least one market that mandates animal testing for beauty products, we can infer from this that the brand does make use of animal testing to sell to that market.

When you buy a Kerastase product in most countries, it will not have been tested on animals. But because the company does make use of the practice of animal testing for a selection of their products, Kerastase is not truly cruelty-free.

Is Kerastase Owned By A Parent Company That Tests On Animals?

Kerastase is an entity within the L’Oreal Professional Products Division. L’Oreal has a standardized policy on animal testing across all of its brands, which includes such names as Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren, and Lancome, among others.

L’Oreal’s official stance is that they no longer make use of animal testing, and instead ensure the safety of their hair care and beauty products by testing them in ways that do not involve cruelty to animals.

L’Oreal clarifies this position by stating that they have exceptions to this policy. One such exception is when any of their brands are being offered for sale in markets that require beauty and hair care products to be tested on animals in order to be sold on store shelves.

Because L’Oreal does sell more than one of its brands in China, which is infamous for requiring animal testing for those kinds of products, we know that the company does make use of the practice of testing on animals in certain situations, so they are not completely cruelty-free.

Although the individual products that you can buy from L’Oreal in most countries will not have been produced with animal testing as part of their workflow, the cruelty-free classification cannot be truly assigned while the brands that L’Oreal owns engage in animal testing for their products.

Is Kerastase Certified Cruelty-Free?

Kerastase is not certified by any of the main organizations that offer cruelty-free certifications. Cruelty Free International does not have Kerastase as part of their Leaping Bunny Program, and PETA has similarly not given such certification. PETA has, however, included Kerastase on their list of brands to avoid.

Is Kerastase Vegan?

Kerastase cannot be considered a vegan company because their products are tested on animals, so until that status changes, regardless of whether or not their products contain vegan ingredients, they should not be able to claim that they are vegan friendly.

Is Kerastase Sold In China?

Kerastase products are sold in brick and mortar stores in mainland China. This is an important fact to note because whether or not a hair care or cosmetic product is sold in the People’s Republic of China, henceforth referred to simply as China, specifically excluding Taiwan, is an easy way to determine whether it is cruelty-free or not.

China has traditionally required all cosmetic products to be tested on animals before they could be sold in stores in the country. This means that any cosmetic product that had been sold in China would not be cruelty-free because they would have had to pass the animal testing barrier to get their products on store shelves in the country.

As of May 2021, the Chinese government has somewhat loosened the requirements on animal testing for many cosmetics products. They now classify cosmetics as either “general” or “special,” and only the latter category is required to be tested on animals in order to be legally sold.

Although the exact categorization of each product is determined individually, some proportion of L’Oreal products do fall into the “special” category, and for that reason, we can say that the practice of testing on animals is still being used by the company and its brands, even if it is just for a selection of its products.

What Are Some Cruelty-Free Haircare Brand Alternatives?

A large number of companies provide completely cruelty-free haircare products. Olaplex and Pureology are both brands that are very serious about their position against animal testing, so they are a good place to start.

If you want luxury cruelty-free hair growth products, consider Vegamour haircare products. Vegamour products are cruelty-free, 100% vegan and take a holistic approach to hair wellness. They formulate their products with plant-based actives, enzymes, and proteins for healthier hair growth.

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Final Thoughts: Is Kerastase Cruelty-Free And Vegan?

We have learned that despite their official policy, Kerastase is not, in fact, cruelty-free, since they do allow their products to be sold in China, where animal testing is required for cosmetics.

Luckily other haircare brands produce cruelty-free haircare products, so we can still get the gorgeous hair we want without harming any animals in the process.

Thanks for reading!