Top 5 Cruelty-Free Vegan Nail Polish + Lip Care Products
Our Vegan Nail Polish and Lip Care Products
Let's start with Vegan cosmetics, and what it really means to be vegan.
Bet you didn’t know that your favorite super-cute pink polish could be loaded with animal fats, animal derived ingredients, and even fish scales? (yes, fish scales). Suddenly your mani/pedi doesn’t feel so cute. There are literally thousands of animal-derived ingredients in all of your beauty products—including your nail polish.
Take the guilt off your hands and go vegan.
Vegan cosmetic brands strive to create product lines that do not contain animal or animal derived ingredients.
Animal derived ingredients are commonly found in cosmetics, and are often disguised as unrecognizable ingredient names.
Ingredient names such as guanine, tallow, gelatin, milk, lanolin, honey, beeswax, royal jelly, and carmine, are all derived from our animal friends. The process of deriving these ingredients can often kill or torture the animals in the process.
Ensure Your Nail Polish is Vegan
So what can you do to make sure that these unrecognizable named ingredients aren’t in the cosmetics you purchase?
We recommend taking a look at the cosmetic ingredients labels on your products, and seeing if any of them fall under PETA’s official animal-derived ingredients list. Taking the time to ensure the cosmetics you purchase are vegan means you’re playing a small part in a larger movement to keep animal by-products out of your cosmetics.
Don’t hurt our furry friends, love them.
NCLA’s products are comprised of wholesome, quality ingredients that contain zero animal derivatives. Take NCLA’s Award Winning and best selling So Rich cuticle oil formula - it revitalizes and hydrates the hand and cuticles without using ingredients derived from animal by products. Instead, we source and infuse our formulas with refined pure oils such as Safflower Oil, derived from plants and fruits. These oils contain rich nutrients that hydrate your nail and hand, while locking in moisture and improving the health of your skin and nail bed.
Substituting animal derivatives with quality cosmetic ingredients is one of the many reasons why NCLA is proud to be 100% Vegan!
Feeling better? Good. But. hold on, girl. We’re not done. Buying vegan products is a crucial first step. Second step in achieving guilt-free gorgeous nails is to buy cruelty-free nail polish. (Yes, there’s a difference).
What do we mean by "vegan and cruelty-free"?
While vegan nail polish products do not contain any animal-based ingredients in their formulas, that doesn’t necessarily mean that a vegan product is also cruelty-free. Learn more about the important differences from one of our favorite vegan and cruelty-free bloggers Ethical Elephant.
We’ve taken a stance against testing our products on animals, and we’re proud of it!
Some of our founding principles include never compromising our quality, ingredients, or ethics. Being cruelty-free means never testing on animals at any point of the manufacturing process.
Purchasing cruelty-free cosmetics means saying “NO" to companies that do test on animals, and perform unethical testing practices on our furry friends.
NCLA's vegan nail polish is 100% cruelty free, because we just don’t think nail polish looks good on bunnies. (or any cosmetics for that matter)
Make sure the cosmetic brands you are using are both vegan AND cruelty-free. A company that does not test on animals but still uses animal derivatives in their formula will often label themselves as cruelty-free. (Crazy, right?)
Being cruelty free also means not retailing in countries that require animal testing. NCLA won’t compromise its standards to sell in certain countries, until we see their laws change.
If a brand is acquired by a parent company, or a larger conglomerate that is not cruelty free, we associate that brand as not being cruelty free any longer. Although the façade of the brand may stay the same once it is acquired, the brand has made affiliations to animal testing, and are also subject to animal testing themselves.
Before you have a total panic attack about what exactly is in your cosmetics, remember that you’re not alone.
Finding vegan and cruelty free brands can be easy with the help of bloggers dedicated to making an impact in ethical cosmetics. Bloggers such as Tashina Combs of Logical Harmony stay up to date on industry changes, and review their favorite vegan and cruelty free brands like NCLA regularly. Their blog posts help readers make informed decisions on choosing cosmetic brands, and making sure shopping experiencing a little easier!
NCLA’s products are made up of honest, cruelty-free, and vegan ingredients. We put our beauty standards first, and that includes saving our furry friends from being subject to animal testing. We believe in going the extra mile in our manufacturing process, to make sure our products our ethically produced and sold.
More importantly, we are animal lovers who are dedicated to living a cruelty-free lifestyle.
But, wait! There’s more!
Get NCLA's 7-Free Vegan Nail Polish
Okay so we’ve covered vegan, and cruelty-free.
Did you know the entire surface of the nail is highly porous, and just like your skin, any products applied to your nails can seep into your pores and blood stream?
Nail polish is one of the only cosmetic products you apply and leave on for up to two to three weeks. Makes you think twice about what you are really putting on your nails, right?
Luckily, NCLA’s nail polish and gel polish formula is 7-Free. What does that really mean? Its means we’ve formulated our products to contain only the cleanest ingredients, and have taken out the harmful toxins that are commonly found in nail polishes. These toxins range from harmful ingredients to known carcinogens. Before your next nail polish purchase, make sure you know what to look for, and what 7-Free really means.
NCLA's range of creams, holographic, shimmers, and glitters all have one thing in common. Their formulas are all 7-Free!
Going for a gel formula? NCLA's line of professional soak-off gels are all 7-Free too, girl.
NCLA’s 7-Free Formulas contain:
NO Formaldehyde: NCLA does not contain Formaldehyde in any of its formulas. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has officially classified Formaldehyde as a carcinogen. Formaldehyde is a colorless chemical often used in cosmetics alongside preservatives. Women’s Health Mag reports that nearly 20% of products contain Formaldehyde. Some side affects of Formaldehyde found in cosmetics include skin irritation, burns, and hair loss. The known carcinogen has been warned by health administrations to be very unsafe for consumers. We recommend staying away from any cosmetics containing this chemical. You can easily look for Formaldehyde in the labels of your nail polishes, and all cosmetic products. Luckily, we are required by law to list all ingredients, so if you know what to look for, you can easily avoid toxic ingredients.
NO Formaldehyde Resin: NCLA products do not contain Formaldehyde resin, as it’s known side affects can cause serious irritation and may contain residuals of Formaldehyde.
NO Camphor: Have you ever had that nauseous feeling when you feel like you’ve just inhaled too many paint fumes? Well, that’s because you’re most likely inhaling Camphor. Camphor is commonly found in many nail polishes. Inhaling Camphor leads to nausea, dizziness, and headaches. In addition to inhaling Camphor, your nails and skin breathe in the products you apply to it too. Because we prefer our products to be non-nauseating, NCLA does not contain any Camphor in any our formulations. The only thing that makes us dizzy is thinking about how brands still use Camphor in their products.
NO DBP (dibutyl phthalate): DBP is the Regina George of chemicals. DBP has caused birth defects and developmental problems in children of pregnant women to those exposed for long periods of time. Although the US has no current restrictions on putting DBP in nail polish, but NCLA does.
NO Xylene: Xylene is a harmful toxin that can be dangerous and lead to liver and kidney damage. Less serious side effects can include skin and eye irritation and even severe headaches. It’s strong smell also leaves a recognizable odor.
NO Toluene: Toluene is a toxic chemical often found in nail products that can result in temporary effects such as headaches and dizziness, and more severe effects such as reproductive damage, organ damage, and even respiratory issues from inhaling.
NO TPHP: TPHP is a harmful chemical often found in nail polishes. It’s list of harmful side effects has us feeling like:
TPHP has been said to cause disruptive changes in hormone regulation, metabolism, and reproductive systems in those who used nail polish brands with the harmful ingredient on their nails. But before you freak out too, we’re happy to say NCLA’s 7-Free formula contains absolutely NO TPHP in any of our products.
Do your self a favor, and grab some of our vegan soy polish remover wraps. Wipe the guilt away and start fresh!
Take It Off comes with 10 soy-based vegan nail lacquer remover sheets, enough to remove 10 manicures. Designed to effortlessly remove any trace of nail lacquer, the durable wipes are individually wrapped for convenience. Its soy-based formula strengthens your nails as it strips the color.
Gently wipe each nail to remove traces of nail lacquer, leaving your nails clean and bright! One sheet will remove lacquer from all ten nails.
Check for Vegan Nail Polishes at the Salon
*Tip: We often take a second look at the ingredients of the cosmetics we purchase if we know what to look for, but don’t think to look twice at products when we are paying for services at a salon or an at-home nail service.
You might be inadvertently using carcinogenic ingredients in the products used on you at salons. Not to worry, there’s plenty of ways to go around it without swearing off nail salons. Ask your local salon if they carry NCLA, or email us at hello@shopncla.com for a list of local stockists.
Or, better yet, start building your own vegan, cruelty-free NCLA collection, and spread the word. Sharing is caring.
Nail salons are also happy to use products that are brought in to them by customers. If you want to know exactly what ingredients are being used on you, there’s no better way to do so then by bringing some NCLA lacquers or gels with you, and asking your favorite tech to apply it for you.
We’re a beauty brand that creates product with you in mind. We put in wholesome ingredients, and work to take out everything that we wouldn’t want on our own nails out. That’s why you can always count on NCLA products to be cruelty-free, vegan, and 7-Free. Our products are created to be used at home, or in a salon, to guarantee that what you see is what you get.
We also love to hear from you! If you have any questions about our products, reach out to us at hello@shopncla.com. We'll get back to you and let you know how much we appreciate you!
Want more? Click here to shop NCLA’s 7-Free, cruelty-free, and 100% vegan line.