Cruelty-free Japanese brands are not common. Although brands sometimes release information about their own animal testing policies, this information is not necessarily applicable to their suppliers, and they may also sell in physical stores in China, where their products may be subject to pre- or post-market animal testing, without disclosing that information. This means their animal testing policy may refer only to if animal testing is performed in product development, and not to if they pay for animal testing to be conducted so they can sell in a particular country.
Where we have any information about this, we will share it below.
There may be very few or no vegan and cruelty-free choices in typical drugstores or grocery stores. The only brands listed here which may be found in these types of stores are Kose, Diane, and Argelan, which do not appear to be cruelty-free, Miyoshi, The Public Organic, and Vegan Style. Ordering online at iHerb or other websites or going to a specialty store such as Lush may be your best bet. Natural Lawson convenience stores also occasionally stock some choices- Sukin and Andalou Naturals have been carried there in the past, albeit at higher prices than on iHerb. There are also a number of Japanese salon brands with vegan products that cannot be found in drugstores.
For those who enjoy using liquid castile soap as shampoo, Dr. Bronner’s is probably the most easily found brand in Japan. There is also a Japanese brand called The Perfect Anchor. Find information about these products in our Kitchen Soap & Soap section.
Aesop has more than thirty stores in Japan and is listed as totally vegan and cruelty-free by the website Ethical Elephant. Find the store locations here (English).
Photos from website.
‘ala Lehua is a Japanese brand with a concept of products that use 100% pure essential oils blended with Hawaiian kukui nut and macadamia nut oils. They make a Hair & Body Wash, along with air and fabric fresheners, body cream, hand wash, and aroma reed diffusers, all in three scents. They do not make a hair conditioner. Per customer service, they do not animal test and their lip cream and hand & nail cream are the only things they make containing animal products (honey and beeswax). The products can be ordered online.
Photo from website.
Argelan is the house brand of Matsumoto Kiyoshi, a large Japanese drugstore chain. It is a line of organic products that was launched in 2012. For more information about Argelan, check Medium’s BeautyTech.jp article In Japan, two major companies take the lead in organic cosmetics.
From a perusal of the haircare section of the website in February 2021, all the haircare products (shampoos, conditioners/treatments, masks, and hair oils) were marked free of animal products, “Free: 動物原料.” There were three ranges: Damage Repair, Balancing Moist, and Essential Oil. There are also explanations of what each ingredient is made of on the individual product pages.
Although Matsumoto Kiyoshi does not appear to have any shops in Mainland China, this PR Times article (Japanese) from 2017 states they don’t do animal experiments (with some exceptions), “動物実験は実施しないこと※一部抜粋.” No information was provided in the article about what those exceptions were. However, as of February 2021, the Argelan website states that they have their own in-house organic standards, and that as part of these, they don’t do animal testing (動物実験は実施しないこと). It is not clear if they really did quit whatever animal testing they were doing in 2017 or if they just mean that they don’t do any in the development of the products but still, for example, pay for animal testing to be done to sell in particular regions.
Damage repair:
Balancing Moist:
Essential Oil (photo from website:
Authentic Beauty Concept is a vegan and cruelty-free brand from Germany, launched June 2019. It is available in selected salons in Japan. The parent company, Henkel, is not cruelty-free. The salon list is here (Japanese). As of June 2020, more than 160 salons from Hokkaido to Okinawa are listed as carrying this brand.
Photo from website.
Aveda‘s completed its transition into becoming a vegan brand as of 2021. Aveda is owned by Estee Lauder, which is not cruelty-free. For more on this, check the excellent website Logical Harmony. The products are available at Aveda salons in Japan.
Awake is a collaboration brand with the US-based Tarte. It’s owned by Kose, which sells in China and therefore cannot be considered cruelty-free. The Brand Concept (Japanese) section of the Japanese Awake website says all the products are vegan (have no animal ingredients)/ 全製品においてヴィーガン対応*。（*動物由来原料不使用).
The FAQ’s section of the U.S. Awake site says “many of our products are vegan,” but as of February 2020, a U.S. customer service representative stated all of the Awake beauty products are vegan.
They have two shampoos, two conditioners and a hair oil.
Photos from website.
The Body Shop is a vegetarian, cruelty-free shop with many vegan options.
Botanist is a Japanese brand that has a vegan shampoo and treatment (conditioner) in moist and smooth versions. These specific products are certified vegan by The Vegan Society and vegan and cruelty-free by PETA. Available at their shop in Omotesando, Tokyo (which also has a vegan-friendly cafe on the second floor) and also online.
Botanist Shampoo & Treatment Vegan Moist.
Botanist Shampoo & Treatment Vegan Smooth.
Photo from website.
For Botanist’s other products that are not marked vegan, when we contacted customer service, they would only answer if animal ingredients were not included if we asked about specific items by name. They stated that the following products do use animal ingredients:
Botanist Botanical Shampoo & Treatment Moist/ボタニカルシャンプー &
トリートメント モイスト
Botanist Botanical Shampoo & Treatment Smooth/ボタニカルシャンプー スムース
Other than the items specifically marked “vegan,” we were not able to identify animal-ingredient free products from Botanist.
Ethique shampoo and conditioner bars are sold at Cosme Kitchen stores and on the Cosme Kitchen website (Japanese), the Ethicame website (Japanese), and Amazon Japan. Ethique products are vegan and cruelty-free. Information about this is available on the Ethique website’s sustainability page.
Although the Giovanni hair care products, per the FAQ section of their U.S. website, are vegan except for: “our Magnetic Hair Care products (which contain lactoferrin) and our Hot Chocolate™ Sugar Scrub (which contains honey),” we’ve identified that the Shiny Hair Wax Giovanni products sold in Japan contain beeswax/ミツロウ/mitsurou.
The photo below was also taken in a branch of Cosme Kitchen. Giovanni products can also be purchased online, including from the Cosme Kitchen website (Japanese).
Hinoseiyaku is a Japanese company.
Their website explicitly states that no animal ingredients are used in the Hyakuso Monogatari Botanical Elegance shampoo and conditioner, 動物由来原料フリー.
In March 2020, they were reported to have confirmed that they do not test on animals and that their suppliers do not test on animals. We do not currently have information on if they sell their products in China or not.
The products are not generally carried in stores, but need to be ordered online.
Hyakuso Monogatari Botanical Elegance shampoo and conditioner/百草物語 シャンプー&トリートメント Botanical Elegance.
Photo from website.
John Masters Organics, per their website, doesn’t test on animals.
As of 7/30/2020, the Frequently Asked Questions portion of their website reads:
“Are your products vegan?
We define vegan as products that do not contain ingredients sourced from animals. Our products are vegan with the exception of the following: Lavender & Avocado Intensive Conditioner (honey), Hair Paste (honey), Hair Pomade (beeswax), Honey & Hibiscus Hair Reconstructor (honey), Honey & Hibiscus Hair Reconstructing Shampoo (honey), and Lip Calm (beeswax).”
Kose is a Japanese company that sells in physical stores in China. Because they sell in physical stores in mainland China, the products are not cruelty-free.
Kose’s own animal testing policy (Japanese) is (from autotranslate): “The Kose Group is promoting the development of cosmetics (including quasi-drugs) with a policy of not conducting animal experiments, while putting safety first. *
In addition to utilizing the vast amount of safety data that has been accumulated over the past years of cosmetics development, we also ensure the safety of cosmetics based on our own standards through alternative testing methods and various human tests. We will not conduct animal experiments including outsourcing, and will continue to develop cosmetics in the future.
Except in the unlikely event that safety is held accountable to society or required by government in some countries.”
They make some products that are labeled on the website as not containing animal ingredients, “動物由来原料フリー.” There are 12 of these products in total, a shampoo, conditioner, and treatment in each of the Deep Moist, Extra Damage Repair, Sleek Straight, and Extra Airy varieties. Those products are shown below. The entire Bioliss Botanical line can be found here (English).
The additional products in the Bioliss Botanical line such as hair oil and hair wax are not specifically listed on the website as being free of animal ingredients. The hair water is listed as containing silk. The Deep Repair Hair Mask is listed as containing honey.
Kose Bioliss Botanical Deep Moist Shampoo/コーセービオリスボタニカル シャンプー (ディープモイスト).
Refills are also available.
Kose Bioliss Botanical Deep Moist Conditioner/コーセービオリスボタニカル コンディショナー (ディープモイスト).
Refills are also available.
Kose Bioliss Botanical Deep Moist Treatment/コーセービオリス ボタニカル ヘアトリートメント（ディープモイスト）.
Photo from website.
Kose Bioliss Botanical Extra Damage Repair Shampoo/ビオリス ボタニカル シャンプー（エクストラダメージリペア).
Refills are also available.
Kose Bioliss Botanical Extra Damage Repair Conditioner/ビオリス ボタニカル
コンディショナー（エクストラダメージリペア).
Refills are also available.
Kose Bioliss Botanical Extra Damage Repair Treatment/コーセービオリス ボタニカル ヘアトリートメント（エクストラダメージリペア).
Photo from website.
Kose Bioliss Botanical Sleek Straight Shampoo/ビオリス ボタニカル シャンプー（スリークストレート).
Refills for this product are available.
Photo from website.
Kose Bioliss Botanical Sleek Straight Conditioner/ビオリス ボタニカル コンディショナー （スリークストレート).
Refills for this product are available.
Photo from website.
Kose Bioliss Botanical Sleek Straight Treatment/コーセービオリス ボタニカル ヘアトリートメント（スリークストレート).
Photo from website.
Kose Bioliss Botanical Extra Airy Shampoo/ビオリス ボタニカル シャンプー（エクストラエアリー).
Refills for this product are available.
Photo from website.
Kose Bioliss Botanical Extra Airy Conditioner/ビオリス ボタニカル コンディショナー（エクストラエアリー).
Refills for this product are available.
Photo from website.
Kose Bioliss Botanical Extra Airy Treatment/コーセービオリス ボタニカル ヘアトリートメント（エクストラエアリー).
Photo from website.
The hair mask contains honey, so is not vegan.
Bioliss Botanical Deep Repair Hair Mask/ビオリス ボタニカル ディープリペア ヘアマスク.
Kose Nature & Co (Japanese) Botanical Shampoo and Conditioner, Botanical Hair Oil, and Botanical Dry Shampoo are also free of animal raw materials, although Kose sells in China so is not cruelty-free.
Refills are also available.
Photos from website.
In addition, around early 2021 Kose launched a product line called Bioliss Veganee. The packages and website say “Vegan-Friendly” in English and Japanese. The website explains this means that there are no animal ingredients used – ヴィーガンフレンドリー(動物由来原料不使用) 処方. There is a Botanical Shampoo and a Botanical Conditioner each in both Smooth and Moist versions and a Hair Milky Balm.
Photo of the Hair Milky Balm from website.
Lazartigue (Instagram @lazartigue_jp) is an imported premium haircare brand begun by the hairdresser J.F. Lazartigue, founder of a Paris hair salon. Per its US website, its current products are vegan and the formulas are registered with the British Vegan Society, with the exception of Volumize (the volume hairspray) and the coloring emulsion range.
It began being sold in Japan in January 2020 at stores including Hankyu Umeda and Isetan Shinjuku and is available on the Hankyu Beauty Online webshop of Hankyu Department Store and Mirabella webshop (Japanese). The PR Times (Japanese) reports it uses recycled plastic for the packages and eliminates outer paper boxes. It’s a member of the same group as Les Couvent des Minimes, a perfume and skincare brand which has also been relaunched as vegan and is sold in Japan. Listed prices for Lazartigue products are in the 2500-8400 yen range.
Lush is a vegetarian, cruelty-free shop with many vegan options.
Lush is a very popular store in Japan with more than 70 branches in the country. It does not do animal testing or buy from suppliers that do animal testing and all the products are vegan or vegetarian. The bags say “no animal testing” in Japanese. It sells plant-based soap as well as facial masks, shampoo, conditioner and many other products. They also sell charity products, with the purchase price, minus tax, going to various charitable organizations both inside and outside of Japan. The company’s website states that about 80% of their products are vegan.
Per Lush’s USA website, the company does use palm oil derivatives in some of its ingredients. The list of ingredients using palm oil derivatives is here.
At least in the Shibuya, Tokyo branch most, but seemingly not all, of the products were labeled vegan or vegetarian, so it might be a good idea to look up the products you want before you go. They appear to specialize in highly scented/fragranced products.
・Miyoshi is a Japanese soap company that also makes shampoos, conditioners, and other products. The list of their products containing beef tallow is here (Japanese). It states that for items not on the list whose main ingredient is “soap,” it is plant-derived (上記商品以外で“せっけん”が主原料の商品は植物由来の原料になります) and that their products use palm oil.
Their animal testing policy, detailed on the same page, states (from autotranslate):
(1) We do not carry out animal experiments on all products. At this time, there are no plans to do so in the future.
(2) We do not outsource animal testing of all products to external organizations.
(3) We have not received any reports from group companies that we are conducting animal experiments.
(4) We do not investigate whether the raw material manufacturer is conducting animal experiments on the raw materials used by us. There are no plans to investigate further at this time.”
Per a phone call as of January 2019, the only animal ingredient Miyoshi uses is beef tallow/gyuushi/牛脂. None of their shampoo and rinse (conditioner) products appear on the list of items that contain beef tallow.
Naturelab is a Japanese company that makes a few lines of haircare products under the “Diane” name. In 2019, when asked if Diane products are sold in China, the customer service provided a list of stores in China they could be found at. Therefore it seems the Diane products do not meet the definition of cruelty-free.
Their about page (Japanese) and the product packages state that their products are free of animal products, with the exception of microbial raw materials or honey.
Their animal testing policy, from the same section, is “原料・商品の製造において動物実験をしないこと,” which translates to “no animal testing on ingredients or finished products.”
Per customer service, the Moist Diane Botanical Damage Repairing Shampoo and Treatment (English) do not use animal ingredients. Refills and samples for the products are also available.
Per customer service, their Botanical Moist Shampoo and Treatment use honey. Therefore they are not vegan.
Naturelab’s Diane Bonheur Organic line is sold only at Cosme Kitchen and contains no animal-based ingredients per the Diane Bonheur Organic website.
Diane Bonheur Organic Damage Repair & Diane Bonheur Organic Moist & Smooth.
There are also animal-ingredient-free hair oils in the same line, as well as plastic and wooden/plastic brushes without animal hair bristles.
Diane Bonheur Organic Signature Oil Rose & Neroli & Diane Bonheur Organic Signature Oil Bergamot & Sage.
Despite releasing a list of where they sell in China in 2019, in 2020, Diane launched a shampoo and conditioner line called Be True that they market as vegan and “no animal testing.” There are two products, Healthy (Basil and Avocado) and Relax (Kale and Quinoa). Samples and refills are available. It’s not clear whether this particular product line is being sold in mainland Chinese physical stores or not.
Number Three is a Japanese salon brand that has a number of vegan product lines- Ilga (Number Three), Number Three Hue Care, and Yululuka. Their Number Three Organics line is vegan except for the Hair Balm. In 2021 they confirmed that they don’t conduct any animal experiments on their products and that as much as possible, they confirm that their ingredients have not been tested on animals. They use ingredients that have been checked for safety with a record of being safely used on humans, that have been patch tested on humans, etc.
Ilga (Number 3)/イルガ（ナンバースリー） is a line for sensitive skin which has a shampoo, treatments (conditioner), scalp clean, and scalp lotion. All products are certified vegan by The Vegan Society.
Photo from website.
Number Three Hue Care is certified vegan by The Vegan Society and cruelty-free by PETA. The line consists of a shampoo, a conditioner (treatment) and a scalp serum.
Photo from website.
Number Three Organics/ナンバースリーオーガニック has vegan (certified by The Vegan Society) Natural Shampoo, Moisture Shampoo, Smooth Treatment, Repair Treatment, Scalp Cream, and Hair Oil. Their Hair Balm is not vegan. The products are available online.
There is a list of salons that carry these products here (Japanese). More details about the products are provided here (Japanese).
They also sell a line of certified vegan aroma oils.
Photo from website.
Yululuka/ユルルカ ナンバースリー, another brand from Number Three, is available at the following salons (Japanese). The products have The Vegan Society’s vegan mark.
Photo from website.
Now let’s move on to an original brand of a drugstore called Sugi Yakkyoku.
S-Select Organic Moist shampoo/エスセレクト オガーニック成分配合 シャンプー and S-Select Organic Moist Conditioner/エスセレクト オガーニック成分配合 コンディショナー say “no animal derived material” on the front of the package. As of June 2020, the conditioner is available for free when you redeem your points collected with Sugi Yakkyoku (refill package only, 700 points required, may not be available at all stores). Details on the offer here (Japanese).
We do not have information about the cruelty-free status of these products.
Sierra Organica (Japanese) is a Japanese salon brand with some vegan items- conditioners (treatments) and hair oils. Check for the “vegan quality” mark next to individual items on the website. Some items, like the hair waxes, are not vegan (the hair waxes contain beeswax/ミツロウ). The list of salons that carry Sierra Organica products is here (Japanese).
The Public Organic is a Japanese brand. Per the about section of their website (Japanese), they do not animal test/動物実験を実施しないこと and they do not use animal ingredients in their products, with the exception of microbial raw materials, honey and beeswax/微生物由来原料及びハチミツ、ミツロウを除く、動物原料を使用しないこと. As of March 2020, they stated that do not sell in physical stores in mainland China. There are sample sets available for the shampoos and treatments, but unfortunately each shampoo without animal ingredients comes with a sample of treatment with animal ingredients (or vice-versa). This means there do not appear to be any totally vegan sample sets available.
The products and ingredient lists can be found here (Japanese). The shampoo and conditioner products that do not contain any animal ingredients are:
Check the Kitchen Soap, Soap, Toothpaste & Mouthwash section for the animal-ingredient-free soaps by The Public Organic.
The Basic Wellness Vegan Cream Hair Cleansing shampoo is available for purchase online (Japanese). No information appears to be given about the company’s animal testing policy.
Photo from website.
Vegan Style certified vegan (by the UK Vegan Society) and halal hair care products
were released May 5, 2020 in 380 Aeon and Aeon Style stores in Honshu, Kyushu and Shikoku. See more details in the press release (Japanese).
Viject (Japanese), made by Sunsmile, is a Japanese brand that makes shampoo and conditioner. They are available in two types, “Airy Smooth” and “Moist Rich” and are available in Loft shops and online. They have the UK Vegan Society mark, which means they don’t use animal-derived materials and animal experiments were not conducted. Read more about these products in this PR Times article (Japanese).
