Living Proof (Unilever)

Last Updated: January 19, 2023

How Ethical Is Living Proof (Unilever)?

Make a positive impact by supporting companies with the same values and ethics as what matters most to you. To navigate and find ethical brands, here’s a summary of Living Proof’s ethics and initiatives.

Ethical Analysis

Is Living Proof cruelty-free, vegan, or sustainable? We’ve got the answers here! Read below for more details on Living Proof’s policies.
Living Proof is cruelty-free but Living Proof is owned by Unilever, a company that is NOT cruelty-free.
Not all of Living Proof’s products are vegan but they have some vegan options.
Currently, the only sustainability initiative I could find of Living Proof implementing is their recycling program with Terracycle.
Living Proof products come in plastic packaging but they offer a recycling program with TerraCycle.

Additionally, Living Proof’s goal by 2025 is to decrease their use of virgin plastic by 50% and increase their use of post-consumer recycled material by 50% while having 100% recyclable packaging worldwide.

About Living Proof (Unilever)

Living Proof offers hair products that are paraben-free & silicone-free.
COMPANY BASED IN: USA
PRODUCTS MADE IN: USA
PRODUCTS: Hair Care
CERTIFICATIONS: PETA-Certified

Living Proof (Unilever)

This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission.

Is Living Proof Cruelty-Free?

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

Does Living Proof Test on Animals?

When asking, does Living Proof test on animals? We must look beyond to ensure none of Living Proof’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:

  • ✓ Living Proof confirmed they do not test their products or ingredients on animals or ask others to test on their behalf.
  • ✓ Living Proof confirmed all their ingredient suppliers do not test on animals
  • ✓ Living Proof 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, Living Proof is a *cruelty-free brand by our standards.

*Living Proof is owned by Unilever, 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 Unilever owns Living Proof.

What About China’s Animal Testing Laws?

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

“No we do not sell in mainland 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 Living Proof Certified Cruelty-Free?

Living Proof is certified cruelty-free by PETA, but NOT Leaping Bunny certified.

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 Living Proof Vegan?

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

How to know which of Living Proof products are vegan?

All of Living Proof’s vegan products are clearly marked on their website. In addition, you can shop from their list of vegan products on this page: https://www.livingproof.com/shop/more-ways-to-shop/vegan-products/

Living Proof Vegan Product List

When I asked Living Proof which of their hair care products are suitable for vegans and don’t contain any animal-derived ingredients or by-products, they told me all of their products are vegan with the exception of a handful that contains beeswax and/or lanolin.

Our scientists take great care in developing highly effective products. All of them are vegan with the exception of just a few that use PEG-8 Beeswax (from bees) and/or C10-40 Isoalkylamidopropylethyldimonium Ethosulfate (a lanolin base from lamb’s wool). Those products are our:

  • Amp – not vegan
  • Curl Defining Cream – not vegan
  • Curl Detangling Rinse – not vegan
  • No Frizz Weightless Styling Spray – not vegan
  • Perfect hair Day (PhD) 5-in-1 Styling Treatment – not vegan
  • Perfect hair Day (PhD) Night Cap Overnight Perfector – not vegan
  • Prime Style Extender – not vegan
  • Restore Mask Treatment – not vegan

Where to buy Living Proof? Check out livingproof.com, Sephora, Ulta, Cult Beauty, and Amazon!

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.

Where are Living Proof’s products made?

I asked Living Proof where their products are manufactured and they told me:

“Our products are made in the USA.”


I hope this article helped you to understand Living Proof’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.

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