Skin Actives Scientific rejects the use of animal experimentation in skincare, it’s a practice with limited scientific application and deep moral compromise. 

Our Connection To the Animal World

Animal companionship is a meaningful experience that connects humanity to the natural world since before written history. Even the concept of an animal world that exists as separate and distinct from the world of humans is something of a misnomer, in that humans are animals also. We are just highly evolved, exceptionally successful animals.

While for millennia, the function of animal companionship has had an element of pragmatism to it, but even in these times now far away, the bond between humans and their animal friends is known for its depth.

The forces of modern life have further separated us from seeing our animal cohort as tools or a source of food. The pets that we keep in our homes today are more than just functionary animals, they are parts of our lives. When we look into their eyes, we project our humanity and reflect on our shared commonality. It is easy for us to see ourselves in them.

This has led our society to a cruel paradox.

On one hand, animals seem so much like us, that we have made the logical leap that we can learn about ourselves by experimenting on them. On the other hand, despite being able to see recognizable emotions in their eyes, we have exposed our animal friends to unthinkable pain and suffering.

At Skin Actives Scientific, we reject this practice. At Skin Actives, every product is proudly cruelty free. They always have been and always will be.

Why?

Two reasons:

First- The Issue of Science - Simply put: there is a limited amount we can learn from testing skincare on animals. 

The animals that are predominantly chosen for testing are mammals, like us. They have hair like us, and if you shave it down you will find skin that seems superficially very much like ours. 

But this understanding of animal skin is incredibly superficial. If you look at the skin of rabbits, guinea pigs, mice, rats, and pigs (which are the animals most commonly tested on), under a microscope, the differences become apparent immediately. 

For instance, multiple dog hairs will emerge from a single follicle, whereas humans get a single hair per follicle. The sweat glands of pigs and dogs function very differently than those of humans, and pig skin is considerably more uneven. Some animals have skin that is attached to the muscles beneath quite firmly, such as humans and pigs, others have loose skin, such as mice.

So why is it that we think we can learn from animals in this way?

In the first half of the twentieth century, governments believed that testing cosmetics and skincare products on animals could ensure safety for humans. But this was a long time ago and now many regulatory departments don’t require it, while some American states and European nations have banned the practice outright.

Regardless of the intentionality of these experiments, at the end of the day, there was never serious scientific study that proved animal testing of this kind could apply to humans. Because at Skin Actives we believe in science and the scientific process, if a methodology can’t be proven to us that it works, then it doesn’t work for us.

Second - the Issue of Conscience - We’re not going to subject you to a whole explanation of what goes into animal testing. We won’t invite you to imagine what these animals go through, if that’s something you are moved to research on your own, we understand. Suffice it to say however, the process no matter how tamely it is described, is horrible. 

If you have an animal friend at home, you are assuring them a better life, and they are enriching yours. Give them a hug and let them know you appreciate them!

At Skin Actives Scientific we don’t want animal experimentation being done in our name. We don’t want it being done to animals in the name of beauty or skin health! If we wouldn’t stand for it to be done to ourselves or our loved ones, we wouldn’t do it to animals. It’s just that simple. We live in a time when it’s very easy to find human volunteers who are able to consent to a test, and we are never in a position to inflict unnecessary suffering.

So, if the science doesn’t add up, and if the testing robs us of our fundamental empathy and connection to the natural world, why would you do it? And the fact is: Skin Actives chooses not to, day after day, time and again. When you buy Skin Actives products, you can rest assured knowing that they have been nowhere near an animal and the results you crave are not founded on the unnecessary suffering of the trusting.