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Nioxin is NOT Cruelty-Free!
Nioxin allows its products to be tested on animals when required by law.
In addition, Nioxin is owned by Wella Company, a parent company that is NOT cruelty-free.
Nioxin’s Animal Testing Policy
While researching to learn more about Nioxin’s cruelty-free status, I couldn’t find the brand’s official animal testing policy anywhere on its website.
So I reached out to Nioxin to ask for more information about their animal testing policy. More specifically, I wanted to know if they commission or allow others to test their products/ingredients on animals, including when selling in countries that require animal testing (like in mainland China).
And Nioxin responded by saying:
“Thank you for your inquiry. At Wella Company, we do not test our products on animals and are committed to ending animal testing across our industry.
All our products are safe and have been developed, manufactured and packaged in compliance with the laws, regulations and guidelines applicable in each country in which they are sold.
Wella Company’s human safety experts review our ingredients, as well as the finished products, by applying the best science, based on the use of recognized alternatives to animal testing, existing safety data and the sharing of such data with other parties and industries.
Some governments or agencies stipulate the testing of finished products on animals in accordance with local legal and regulatory requirements. An example is China, where we continue to be involved in the dialogue with the Chinese authorities, including through our active membership of industry groups, to find alternatives to their use of animal testing.“
Based on their response, it turns out that Wella owns Nioxin. And Nioxin has the same animal testing policy as Wella Company where both state they allow their products or ingredients to be tested on animals to comply with local legal and regulatory requirements.
Truly cruelty-free brands will never allow their products or ingredients to be tested on animals. Cruelty-free companies have a policy where if the law requires them to test on animals then they will refuse to sell their products under those conditions.
For example, imported cosmetics sold in stores in mainland China are required by Chinese laws to be tested on animals upon registration. Therefore, truly cruelty-free brands have chosen not to sell in China in order to remain committed to their no animal testing policy.
Unfortunately, Wella Company and Nioxin state they allow their products and ingredients to be tested on animals if the law requires it (like when selling in China). For those reasons, Nioxin is NOT cruelty-free.
Cruelty-Free Policies
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 by any third parties, including when required by law.
See below for our complete cruelty-free checklist. Since Nioxin allows its products to be tested on animals when required by law, we cannot classify the brand as being cruelty-free.
Is Nioxin Certified Cruelty-Free?
Nioxin is not certified cruelty-free by any third-party cruelty-free certifications like Leaping Bunny or PETA.
Because Nioxin is not certified cruelty-free by a third party, no one is looking into or substantiating Nioxin’s cruelty-free commitments and claims.
Is Nioxin Owned By A Non-Cruelty-Free Parent Company?
Yes. Nioxin is owned by Wella, a parent corporation that still engages in animal testing in 2022.
Some cruelty-free consumers may choose to purchase and support cruelty-free brands owned by animal-tested parent corporations as they hope it will convince the parent company to become cruelty-free.
But in this case, Nioxin is NOT cruelty-free and neither is its parent corporation, Wella.
Is Nioxin Cruelty-Free?
To sum up, Nioxin allows its products to be tested on animals when required by law. Therefore, we would NOT consider Nioxin to be a cruelty-free brand.
Currently, Nioxin is on our List of Brands to Avoid – Animal Tested.
Is Nioxin Vegan?
Nioxin does not claim or market itself to offer any vegan-friendly options. And since Nioxin engages in animal testing, we wouldn’t consider anything sold or produced by Nioxin to be vegan anyways.
In order for products to be considered vegan by ethical elephant’s standards, the products and their ingredients must not be tested on animals anywhere in the world. Also, they must not contain any animal-derived ingredients or by-products.
Cruelty-Free Alternatives to Nioxin
Looking to switch to cruelty-free products? Here are some cruelty-free brands to check out:
- Aveda *owned by Estee Lauder
- Vegamour
- Living Proof *owned by Unilever
- R+Co
- Virtue
