Symbols on Skincare Products
The beauty industry is everything but easy to understand. From beauty influencers pushing products down our throats to scrolling through social media ads about “clean” or “natural” beauty - it can be difficult to know what you’re actually looking for in a product or brand.
Do you want a cruelty free product? Do you care that it's vegan? Does it offer UV protection? Whatever it may be that you are looking for in a beauty brand can likely be found in the information given on their labels.
However, those tiny signs on the labels of your products are slightly indecipherable. In fact up until now, you’ve likely shrugged and ignored them altogether. So, we thought we’d help explain what signs to look out for on a label, and give you a little bit more context into what they mean.
Mobius Loop Symbol
What does the Mobius Loop Symbol mean? You’ve probably seen those three arrows going in a triangle on previous items purchased at the grocery store. This symbol usually means that the bottle is recyclable. In some cases, there will be a percentage sign in the middle, which signifies how much of the container has been made from recycled materials.
If purchasing recycled products or using products that can be recycled is important to you, make sure to look out for the symbol below.
Cruelty Free symbol
There are a few different versions of the animal cruelty free symbol you might see on a label.
The “Leaping Bunny” symbolizes that the company manufacturer does not perform testing on animals and that they meet the standards set by the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics (CCIC) and Cruelty Free International (CFI).
The “Not Tested on Animals” symbol means that the company manufacturer satisfies the standards of the AU based group, Choose Cruelty Free. The products have not been tested on animals, and any animal-derived ingredients in the product must be ethically sourced.
Lastly, the “PETA Cruelty-Free Bunny”, symbolizes that the company has submitted a statement to PETA that they do not test their products on animals. There is a separate vegan version of this symbol for brands who state their products are vegan.
If cruelty free products are important to you, make sure to look out for this symbol before you make your purchase.
Open Flame symbol
Although we advise against holding any of your products close to an open flame (whether they are flammable or not), this sign indicates that the product is flammable. This is more common in products that come in aerosol cans, such as hairspray. You should avoid exposing products with this symbol to high heat or open flame.
Period After Opening
This is probably the more common symbol recognized on products. This symbol identifies the length of time in which a product should be used after opening it before it expires.
The number written on the tub correlates to how many months or years the product will be good for. The “M” represents months and “Y” represents years.
If you’re like us, you probably need help remembering when exactly you opened the product. We recommend noting the open date on the container with a sharpie. This will help you avoid using any expired beauty products.
UVA Symbol
This may or may not be our favorite product symbol. If it wasn’t obvious, the UVA symbol confirms that the product meets the European standards for UVA protection against skin cancer.
When looking for the UVA symbol, make sure it is included WITH the circle. If the product has the UVA symbol WITHOUT the circle, it means that it offers some UVA protection but that it has not met the recommended standards of protection.
You guys know how we feel about our sunscreen. We’ll always recommend our Daytime Defense SPF by Rhonda Allison!
Whether you are adamant about purchasing vegan products, or you are passionate about ending animal-cruelty, beauty brands have really started to do the work that lets you shop accordingly. If you want to know more about your specific product, or there is a symbol you don’t recognize feel free to contact us!