Cosmetics Testing on Animals
Animal testing is not required by law in the United States, "the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, regulated by the FDA, prohibits the sale of mislabeled and "adulterated" cosmetics, but does not require that animal tests be conducted to demonstrate that the cosmetics are safe." Some beauty companies still test new products on animals in order to determine their safety. However, this practice is unnecessary because cosmetics brands can create thousands of new beauty products using already safe ingredients that do not require more testing. Modern testing methods, including human-cell-based tests, computer models, etc., can be used to replace animal testing. These modern-times methods are faster, more effective, cruelty-free, and are minimized in costs.
How does testing in the cosmetic industry work?
1. Skin and eye irritation: Chemicals are rubbed against an animal's shaved skin, or substances are injected into animals' eyes to test the product's irritation.
2. To determine safe dose intake: Researchers force-feed animals into swallowing extensive amounts of chemicals until death to determine the limit of such chemicals that one needs to consume.
3. Some tests force-feed animals to consume for several weeks or months a certain chemical substance in order for researchers to study long-term effects.
It's important to keep in mind that many of these animals undergo painful tests without receiving pain relief medication afterward. Furthermore, these animals are often killed through decapitation, neck-breaking, and asphyxiation when tests are completed.
