Is ghd Cruelty-Free & Vegan in 2023?

Is ghd Cruelty-Free?

🐰 ghd is a *cruelty-free brand. None of ghd’s ingredients or products are tested on animals. ghd has met all the criteria in our Cruelty-Free Checklist and is included in our Cruelty-Free Directory.

Does ghd Test on Animals?

When asking, does ghd test on animals? We must look beyond to ensure none of ghd’s ingredients or suppliers test on animals. And they don’t sell in any country or under conditions that may require animal testing by law.

In our research, we discovered the following:

• ✓ ghd confirmed they do not test their products or ingredients on animals or ask others to test on their behalf.
• ✓ ghd confirmed all their ingredient suppliers do not test on animals
• ✓ ghd confirmed they do not allow or sell their products under conditions where animal testing is required by law

By meeting all of our Cruelty-Free Criteria, ghd is a *cruelty-free brand by our standards.

*ghd is owned by Wella, a corporation that is NOT cruelty-free because they allow some of their other brands to test on animals.

The decision is yours whether you want to support or boycott cruelty-free brands owned by a parent company that is not cruelty-free. There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answer to this. Do what you’re comfortable with. I just thought it was important to disclose that Wella owns ghd.

What is ghd’s Animal Testing Policy?

Below is a screenshot of what’s currently stated on ghd’s website about its animal testing policy:

What About China’s Animal Testing Laws?

ghd has confirmed they do not sell their products in retail stores in mainland China; therefore, they are not required to test on animals.

“We do not ship to China or sell in china.”

With the current changes to China’s animal testing laws, some cosmetics sold in China can be exempt from animal testing under certain conditions. However, without meeting those conditions, animal testing is still legally required for most cosmetics sold in China in 2023.

Is ghd Certified Cruelty-Free?

ghd is not certified by a third-party cruelty-free accreditation like Leaping Bunny or PETA.

Although ghd is not certified cruelty-free, the company has confirmed to us it is a truly *cruelty-free brand by meeting all the criteria in our Cruelty-Free Checklist.

Note that companies can remain to be cruelty-free without an official cruelty-free certification. Some companies may choose not to be certified cruelty-free because of cost, privacy, or lack of resources.

Cruelty-Free Policies 2023

Just because a brand claims it is ‘Cruelty-Free,’ doesn’t always mean that’s the case.

That’s because there is no legal definition for the label ‘Cruelty-Free.’ It can mean different things to different people. But Cruelty-Free is generally used to imply no animal testing. More specifically, the ingredients, formulation, or finished product are not tested on animals at any stage of product development.

At ethical elephant, we always assess a company’s cruelty-free policy using our Cruelty-Free Checklist. This ensures no animal testing was performed by the brand itself, its suppliers, or any third parties.

How We Assess Cruelty-Free Policies

Since 2015, the start of my blog, I’ve been emailing companies asking about their animal testing policies and cruelty-free commitments.

And based on the responses I receive from companies, I’ll research to find any supporting facts needed before concluding whether the brand should be classified as “Cruelty-Free,” “Animal-Tested,” or “Grey Area – Unclear Policies.”

☕️ Every week, I continue to reach out to new brands while trying my best to keep current brands updated. If you found any of my posts or guides helpful, consider Buying Me A Coffee! I would greatly appreciate it! ❤️

What about Vegan?

Just because something is called Cruelty-Free, doesn’t always mean it’s Vegan. And vice versa.

Cruelty-Free only refers to no animal testing, while Vegan means formulated without animal products.

Some brands are Cruelty-Free, but not Vegan.

And some are Vegan, but not Cruelty-Free.

Another important distinction to know is, Vegan in cosmetics can refer to an entire brand is 100% Vegan or a specific product is Vegan.

Is ghd Vegan?

⭐️ ghd is NOT an entirely vegan brand. But ghd offers some vegan options that are free of animal products.

How to know which of ghd’s products are vegan?

When I asked ghd if their products are vegan, they told me:

“Also, no ghd hair styling products are tested on animals, however, some do contain animal-derived ingredients. Perfect Ending, Shiny Ever After, and Dramatic Ending are all vegan. The rest of our range is not vegan due to containing a polymer derived from sheep’s wool.”

Where to buy ghd? Check out ghdhair.com, Sephora, Amazon, and Nordstrom!

Vegan Policies

Similar to ‘Cruelty-Free,’ there is no standard or legal definition for the label ‘Vegan.’ But Vegan is generally used to mean formulated without animal-derived ingredients or animal by-products.

Some common animal products in cosmetics include carmine, lanolin, snail mucus, beeswax, honey, pearl or silk-derived ingredients, animal-based glycerin, keratin, and squalene.

There are plant-based and synthetic alternatives to animal-derived ingredients. But unless a brand explicitly labels its ingredients or product as Vegan, it’s often difficult to know with certainty whether a product is vegan just by reading the ingredient list.

So it’s best to ask the company and manufacturers to ensure the ingredients they chose were from non-animal sources.

I hope this article helped you to understand ghd’s cruelty-free and vegan status and by choosing cruelty-free together, we can help end animal testing for cosmetics once and for all!

If you found this helpful, consider Buying Me a Coffee. So that I can continue to keep this site running and updated.