Are lip fillers vegan?

Anyone who knows me will know that all of the products I use are as ethically sourced as humanly possible. For example, our skincare range, Alumier, is completely animal friendly and not tested on animals – although the use of honey in a couple of products means that strictly speaking the whole range isn’t vegan, although a lot of them are. However, for me, the brand is as ethical as possible, including how all of their ingredients are sourced. As a bee-keeper, I’m reasonably content with the use of honey, as I know that Alumier source incredibly ethically. I love bees!

Products such as dermal fillers, lip fillers and also anti-wrinkle products such as botulinum toxin (more commonly known as botox or azzalure) are categorised as medical products, and legally all medical products must incur some level of animal testing. This is obviously a difficult area – and some people may understand that their antibiotics, or chemotherapy drugs, pain killers etc need to be on the market safely so therefore should be subject to this type of testing, but may make the decision that due to this small amount of testing, they are ethically not prepared to use these products. This is completely understandable.

We currently use a combination of Allergan’s Juvederm/Vycross range of fillers, and more recently the FDA approved Kysense brand of fillers. Both brands are committed to minimalising animal testing as much as possible. Dermal and lip fillers are created using non-animal based hyaluronic acids, so are vegan at the point of use, and the batches that we receive are not tested on animals. Allergan have also committed to phasing out all animal testing, and is due to introduce a cell based testing procedure for its’ Botox products moving forwards, and this will undoubtedly extend to fillers in due course.

This is a very personal area, and I can just promise all my clients that I will always continue to source my products from the most ethical brands and manufacturers that I can.

So in answer to the question Are lip fillers vegan, then no, they are not – no brand is – so you have to decide what your priorities are when it comes to medical treatments. A true vegan would not use dermal fillers, but you should be reassured that most brands now are producing far more ethical products than they previously have, and almost everyone is moving towards a safer and more animal-friendly world.