Ouidad

Last Updated: January 4, 2022

How Ethical Is Ouidad?

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 Ouidad’s ethics and initiatives.

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Ethical Analysis

Is Ouidad cruelty-free, vegan, or sustainable? We’ve got the answers here! Read below for more details on Ouidad’s policies.
Ouidad is cruelty-free. None of Ouidad’s ingredients, formulations, or finished products are tested on animals, anywhere in the world.
Not all of Ouidad’s products are vegan but they have some vegan options.
Ouidad does not claim or market itself as a sustainable company.
Ouidad claims their mica is ethically-sourced without the use of child labor.
Ouidad 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 Ouidad

Find the best curly hair care products with Ouidad’s recommendations & education for all curl types, whether loose, classic, tight, or kinky curls.
COMPANY BASED IN: USA
PRODUCTS MADE IN: USA
PRODUCTS: Hair Care
CERTIFICATIONS: PETA-Certified

Ouidad

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

You can find Ouidad products at ouidad.com, Nordstrom, Ulta, and Amazon

Ouidad is Cruelty-Free

Ouidad 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 Ouidad to be Cruelty-Free.

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

Ouidad's Animal Testing Policy
Ouidad’s animal testing policy

What About China’s Animal Testing Laws?

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

“None of out products are for sale in China.”

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.

Ouidad 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 Ouidad, not all of their products are vegan. But they have some products that are suitable for vegans.

How to know which of Ouidad products are vegan?

Below is a list of Ouidad products that are suitable for vegans and do not contain any animal-derived ingredients or by-products. This vegan product list was provided by Ouidad.

Vegan Policies

Similar to ‘Cruelty-Free,’ there is no standard or legal definition for the label ‘Vegan.’ But it’s usually used in the context to describe something that doesn’t contain any 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.

Where are Ouidad’s products made?

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

“All of our products are made in the USA.”

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 Ouidad if their mica is ethically sourced without the use of child labor and they responded by stating,

“We have Mica in the two products below:

Bye-Bye Breakage™ Strengthening + Thickening Scalp Serum
Heavy Lifting Bubbling Scalp Mask

We can confirm that our Mica is sourced without the use of child labor and we have strict standards that our manufacturers are required to meet in order to ensure compliance.”


I hope this article helped you to understand Ouidad’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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