Is Cosrx A Cruelty-Free Brand?

Last Updated on April 9, 2021 by Eco Elsie

Whether you follow a vegan lifestyle or you just strongly oppose the cruel methods of testing products on animals, more people are actively trying to find out whether or not our favorite go-to beauty brands are actually cruelty-free. We’re pleased to report that Cosrx is! 

The Korean skincare brand currently has 8 product lines, including FULL FIT, PURE FIT, SHIELD FIT, REAL FIT, ONE STEP, HYDRIUM, BALANCIUM, AND AC COLLECTION, and the company can proudly (and accurately) state that every line is 100% cruelty-free

Being 100% cruelty-free is an important distinction in today’s world where consumers can be led to believe one thing due to brands being selective with their wording and not being fully transparent. Some brands won’t give you the full story, but Cosrx is a brand you can believe.

Is Cosrx Cruelty-Free?

Cosrx is a 100% cruelty-free brand meaning there is absolutely no testing on animals. This includes not testing any of the ingredients they use, nor testing in any country.

They haven’t received any certification to attest to this, but this isn’t uncommon for Korean beauty brands and we’ve carried out extensive research to verify their cruelty-free status.

Unfortunately, there are too many beauty brands that claim to be cruelty-free because their products, once manufactured, don’t undergo any animal testing, even though they’re aware that the formulas for certain products include ingredients that have been tested on animals. 

Until recently, there were also multiple companies claiming to be cruelty-free despite selling their products in China, a country that has only just relaxed its own laws regarding the sale of beauty products that haven’t undergone animal testing before they are put on the market.

Cosrx does not sell its products in stores in China for this reason, but the brand is sold online as products could be shipped to China without having to be tested on animals first. 

Korean beauty and brands like Cosrx have therefore been way ahead of their time with the stopping of animal testing as there was a bill passed in 2016 that prohibited the continuation of animal testing, and all Korean beauty companies were completely cruelty-free by 2018. 

Is Cosrx Vegan? 

Although they’re a front-runner for cruelty-free products in the beauty industry, unfortunately for vegans, Cosrx is not a vegan brand, and therefore not every product is 100% vegan.

One of the ingredients that most frequently appears in their formulas is snail mucin.

While there are ways to source this ethically which Cosrx adheres to throughout the production process, the fact it’s an animal-derived ingredient renders the product unsuitable for vegans. 

If you’re not vegan but you’re still concerned about buying products with snail mucin in, here is a direct quote from a Cosrx spokesperson that explains how this ingredient is sourced:

Cosrx uses the supplier CoSeedBoPharm Co. and their extraction process involves snails being “placed over a mesh in a dark and quiet room. For about 30 minutes, the snails are left alone to freely roam the net, leaving mucin in their trails. Throughout the process, there is no external process applied to the snails or the mesh to force mucin production.” In other words, they extract the mucin as naturally as possible. 

While it’s good to know that they’re not using additional methods to try and force the snails to produce a larger volume of mucin, the use of animals means you wouldn’t be able to classify these products as completely vegan.

Is Cosrx an Ethical Company? 

Yes, Cosrx can be considered a pretty ethical company.

Their long-standing commitment to not testing products on animals and the numerous vegan-friendly options they provide is something this brand can be proud of. We just hope that other companies are taking notes! 

However, this will depend on your opinion and your stance on certain issues.

People who try to live a vegan lifestyle, for example, may find it hard to agree that Cosrx is a completely ethical company due to the use of snail mucin in some of the formulas for specific products. 

On the other hand, people who aren’t put off by the use of animal-derived ingredients itself (provided they’re not sourced from cruel origins) may be appeased by the practices through which Cosrx attains their animal-derived ingredients.

Compared to some of the beauty brands that are currently available, Cosrx is certainly a more ethical company than most. 

Are Cosrx Products Toxic?

Cosrx is a responsible manufacturer of reasonably priced products that are filled with a few fuss-free, healing ingredients. Selected especially because they’ll be gentle and kind to your skin, Cosrx stays away from using any ingredients that could cause your skin to flare up. 

Paraben-free and fragrance-free yet featuring high concentration levels of active ingredients, the products manufactured by Cosrx can definitely be considered non-toxic.

Their products are loved not just in Korea but all over the world due to their commitment to ‘clean’ beauty, meaning their products are formulated with only the most helpful and essential ingredients. 

Cosrx beauty isn’t based on a single ingredient and doesn’t follow the same formula for every product. Instead, each range draws on the benefits of different ingredients, with each having its own focus in terms of what it will do for your face.

This is just one of the things we love about this beauty brand, as it ensures that their products cater to a wide variety of different needs and skin types.  

For example, the Cosrx Pimple Patches which have become hugely popular contain hydrocolloid as the main ingredient, which helps to absorb pus and oil from a pimple without drying it out. This results in reduced inflammation and a reduced risk of scarring. 

The Cosrx Centella Blemish Cream, on the other hand, is manufactured with Centella Asiatica as its base. This ingredient is known for its natural bioactive substances such as triterpenoid, saponins, flavonoids, phenolic acids, amino acids, and madecassic acid.

Don’t let the scientific-sounding names fool you, as each of these ingredients is naturally bioactive.

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