With the change of season and prom coming up, it is that time of year when many people often reevaluate their beauty routines. This may include buying new makeup, haircare, and skincare products. While it is wonderful to splurge on new and hot items, many are not aware of the harm that is to animals for some of these products to be distributed.

Every year, an estimated 100 million animals are killed for cosmetic and biological testing. These animals are not just mice and rats, but dogs, cats, rabbits and even monkeys, just to name a few. While animal testing is not required for products to be sold in the United States, it is still legal, which allows anyone to be able to test their products on helpless animals. Internationally, 80 percent of countries still allow animal testing, and China even requires it for cosmetics to be sold there. China’s law requiring animal testing is the primary reason why many favored beauty brands still allow their products to be tested on animals. Refusing to comply with Chinese laws would result in their products not being able to be sold there, which would cause them to miss out on a huge international market. Unfortunately, many cosmetic companies prefer a larger income over better treatment of animals.

One of the most horrible parts of the animal testing industry is how gruesome it really is. In many cases, extreme pain is inflicted on the animal, and most times they die from it. A few of the tests animals may undergo is having chemicals rubbed on their skin or poured into their eyes, or being force fed. The worst part of the tests is that animals are not given any form of pain relief, which causes them to either suffer immensely the rest of their lives, or die a slow and painful death. If you have a pet, would you want them to suffer and die this way?

Ending animal testing is not an overnight project, it is a long and hard fight. One of the largest historic victories was in 2013, when the European Union banned animal testing once and for all. Soon after this, Israel and India also followed, banning all testing on animals. While there is an ongoing group effort to animal testing around the world, there are things you can do individually in the meantime to help support ending animal cruelty. The absolute largest thing you can do is boycott all companies that test on animals. This includes companies such as Mac Cosmetics, L’Oreal, Nars, and Neutrogena. If you are reluctant to give up some of your favorite cosmetic products, remember that there are so many amazing alternative brands you can shop at, that don’t test on animals! A few of these brands are Anastasia Beverly Hills, Kat Von D Beauty, The Body Shop, and Tarte. With so many brands out there who do not test on animals, why should we support those who do? Think about it, should innocent animals really have to die for a lipstick?