As you know before 2021, I was vetting brands just by looking at their animal testing policy and whether they sold in China. However, although my old method still filtered out the “bad” ones from the genuine ones, it still needed refinement. So from 2021 I started emailing the brands to know more and make sure I don’t list brands wrong. The rare time brands replied to my email, it all resulted in the brand’s cruelty-free status being more unclarified rather than cruelty-free. So I had the fear that I will end up listing all uncertified brands as not cruelty-free. However, the reply I got from Medik8 with regards to their cruelty-free status gave me hope.
Is Medik8 certified cruelty-free?
No, Medik8 is not certified cruelty-free.
Does Medik8 test on animals?
No, Medik8 does not test on animals.
Do any of Medik8’s suppliers, manufacturers or any third parties they work with, test on animals?
No, Medik8 third parties don’t test on animals.
Is Medik8 owned by a certified cruelty-free parent?
No, Medik8 is not owned by a certified cruelty-free parent company. Pangea Laboratories Ltd owns Medik8. There is currently no information on whether the parent company is or is not cruelty-free. Let’s hope for the best.
Does Medik8 sell cosmetics in China or any other country where animal testing is required?
No, Medik8 does not sell cosmetics in China.
What is Medik8’s cruelty-free status?
Although I was not given the answers to my questions in order, the email convinced me that Medik8 does not support animal testing. I can’t call it “cruelty-free” only because in the EU this term seems to be reserved for brands that are certified by PETA, Leaping Bunny, etc.
Is Medik8 vegan?
Since 2019, Medik8 is vegan. It is great to learn that Medik8 took the next ethical step to be animal-friendly. Please note that there might still be some old stock at certain salons or clinics that isn’t vegan. These include:
- Prepacked Kits
- Ultimate Recovery Intense – we have removed silk serica (a derivative from the silkworm) and replaced it with allantoin; the natural component in comfrey root. It promotes wound healing, speeds up cellular regeneration and is skin softening.
- Surface Radiance Cleanse – we have removed yoghurt extract. No replacement is necessary.
- White Balance Overnight Repair – we have removed Polyglyceryl-3 beeswax which was acting as an emulsifier and has replaced it with 2 new vegan-friendly emulsifiers.
- Advanced Night Restore – we have removed cholesterol and replaced it with a vegan version of cholesterol and phytosterol, a plant-derived version of cholesterol.
- Balance Moisturiser – we have removed non-vegan Lactobacillus and replaced it with vegan probiotics also known as ‘Lactobacillus Extract Filtrate’ but they are derived from vegetable-based fermentation. We still have vegan prebiotics in this formula too.
I am really happy to at least find the first uncertified brand for this year that is actually cruelty-free. Also happy on reading how careful Medik8 is to avoid part of animal testing at any stage of their product development and sale. Below please find the full reply so that you can understand why I consider Medik8 to be not tested on animals. If there is something that you need more info on, please let me know so that I can ask Medik8 for further clarification.
DISCLAIMER: This is not a pr, affiliate or sponsored post.
Source: Medik8’s reply as at 19.04.2021
“Thank you for your email and for your questions.
We never test on animals, nor do we hire any other company to perform tests on our behalf.
We do not use cruelty-free certifications because we produce and sell within the EU, which has very strict no animal testing laws, which we actively support.
Unfortunately, many of the most common ingredients used in cosmetics have been tested on animals in the past (never by us). But testing on animals has now been banned in the EU, and the latest EU cosmetic regulations (2013) prevent the use of ingredients tested on animals after the cut off date.
The Leaping Bunny certification came into effect before 2013, when animal testing was still legal within the EU. Previous to 2013, the Leaping Bunny certification was useful to prove that an EU-based brand did not test on animals. After 2013, it was a legal requirement that products produced in the EU must not test on animals. Therefore the Leaping Bunny certification is not necessary to prove that we are cruelty-free – simply by working within the EU we are required by law not to test on animals (which we wholeheartedly support). We do not sell Medik8 products in China, because China requires by law that all products sold in the country must be tested on animals. We passionately disagree with this law. We have never and will never test on animals, nor will we ever hire a company to perform any animal testing on our behalf.
The Leaping Bunny certification is an extremely useful symbol used to determine which companies outside of the EU are still testing on animals.
We are animal lovers and look forward to the day when animal testing is banned worldwide forever.
As of July 2019, every Medik8 product we manufacture is 100% vegan-friendly.
A word on existing stocks. We are passionate about sustainability and avoid waste as much as possible. So you will be pleased to know we are not throwing away any of the very few non-vegan products that remain in the supply chain. That is very wasteful. So it may take a little time for these products to sell their way through our network of clinics and salons across the world. All products bought through medik8.com (except some kits which are already packed) will be 100% vegan. When all stocks are depleted, every kit will be fully vegan too.
Of course, we never used any animal ingredients but previously used some by-products like yoghurt extract and these have all been replaced during formula updates in 2019, so now we are completely vegan.
For your reference here are the formulas which were previously non-vegan:
Ultimate Recovery Intense – we have removed silk serica (a derivative from the silk worm) and replaced it with allantoin; the natural component in comfrey root. It promotes wound healing, speeds up cellular regeneration and is skin softening.
Surface Radiance Cleanse – we have removed yoghurt extract. No replacement is necessary.
White Balance Overnight Repair – we have removed Polyglyceryl-3 beeswax which was acting as an emulsifier and have replaced it with 2 new vegan-friendly emulsifiers.
Advanced Night Restore – we have removed cholesterol and replaced it with a vegan version of cholesterol and phytosterol, a plant-derived version of cholesterol.
Balance Moisturiser – we have removed non-vegan Lactobacillus and replaced it with vegan probiotics also known as ‘Lactobacillus Extract Filtrate’ but they are derived from vegetable-based fermentation. We still have vegan prebiotics in this formula too.
I hope this has helped and if you need anything else or have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to get back in touch.”
