Vernon Francois

Last Updated: January 17, 2022

How Ethical Is Vernon Francois?

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 Vernon Francois' ethics and initiatives.

Ethical Analysis

Is Vernon Francois cruelty-free, vegan, or sustainable? We’ve got the answers here! Read below for more details on Vernon Francois’s policies.
Vernon Francois is cruelty-free. None of Vernon Francois’s ingredients, formulations, or finished products are tested on animals, anywhere in the world.
Not all of Vernon Francois’s products are vegan, but they have some vegan options.
Vernon Francois claims their ingredients are “fair trade, sustainably harvested and organic”. However, I couldn’t find any information on their website about which ingredients are fair trade, sustainable, or organic.
Vernon Francois has been non-responsive when I asked if their mica is ethically-sourced without the use of child labor.
Vernon Francois products come in plastic packaging. I couldn’t find anything stating they’re working on reducing their use of virgin plastic in their product packaging.

About Vernon Francois

VERNON FRANÇOIS® offers a hair styling collection for textured and curly hair.
COMPANY BASED IN: USA
PRODUCTS: Hair Care
CERTIFICATIONS: Leaping Bunny

Vernon Francois

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

You can find Vernon Francois cruelty-free products at Sally Beauty and Amazon.

Vernon Francois is Cruelty-Free

Vernon Francois has confirmed they do not test their products or ingredients on animals or ask others to test on their behalf. Their suppliers also do not test on animals, nor do they allow their products to be tested on animals when required by law. And finally, their products are not sold in stores in mainland China or any other country that may require animal testing.

By our standards, we would consider Vernon Francois to be Cruelty-Free.

Below is a screenshot of what’s currently stated on Vernon Francois’ website:

Is Vernon Francois Cruelty-Free?

What About China’s Animal Testing Laws?

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

As of May 1, 2021, some imported ordinary cosmetics can be exempt from animal testing under certain conditions. However, for the most part, animal testing is still legally required for most imported cosmetics in 2022.

Cruelty-Free Policies

Note that 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, and by any third parties.

Also, note that Cruelty-Free and Vegan don’t always mean the same thing.

Vernon Francois is Not 100% Vegan

‘Vegan’ in cosmetics can refer to an entire brand that is 100% Vegan or a specific product is vegan.

In the case of Vernon Francois, not all of their products are vegan. But they have some products that are suitable for vegans.

How to know which of Vernon Francois products are vegan?

When I asked the company if all of their products are vegan, they told me:

“There’s only one product which is not Vegan. And that is the Pure-Fro moisture spray”

Vegan Policies

Similar to ‘Cruelty-Free,’ there is no standard or legal definition for the label ‘Vegan.’ But it usually means no animal-derived ingredients or animal by-products.

Some common animal products used 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 it’s sometimes 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’ve chosen to use were from non-animal sources.

Ethical Mica Mining Policy

Mica is a mineral that’s used in cosmetics to add a shimmery effect. But the mining of natural mica has been linked to child labor and human rights violations.

Unless the company discloses its mica mining policy, we have no way of knowing whether its mica is ethically sourced without child or forced labor.

So I asked Vernon Francois if their mica is ethically sourced without the use of child labor, but they never responded to any of my emails or messages.


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

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