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There are plenty of cruelty free nail polish brands out there – hooray! Brands like Nails Inc, Barry M, ORLY and Glossify are all great options. Lots of them even featuring in the best cruelty-free makeup brands!
The list below also features a lot of products that are free of toxic ingredients usually found within polishes. If you see ‘10-free’ or ‘7-free’ – this refers to the number of ‘normal’ toxic ingredients they’ve left out (nasties like formaldehyde and acetone).
Welcome to ethical nails…
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The Best Vegan & Cruelty-Free Nail Polish
Zao Nail Polish
Zao’s nail polishes are our favourite on the list. Rich in organic silica, which acts to strengthen your nails and a huge range to choose from, you’ll love Zao like we do.
- £11.50
- 8ml
- Cruelty-free & vegan
You can read our full review of Zao below.
11 Best Vegan & Cruelty-Free Nail Polish
Nails Inc: Plant Power Range
Nails Inc is 100% cruelty free, and nearly 100% vegan. While it’s still working on getting every product to be vegan friendly,
I recommend the Plant Power range, which is totally plant-powered. Obviously. The ‘What On Earth’ colourway is a beautiful shade of terracotta.
With a range of beautiful colours, these polishes are much kinder to your nails than normal polish: there is no formaldehyde, acetone or parabens.
- £9
- 14ml
- Cruelty-free
- Vegan range – although not entirely vegan
- 21-free
- Huge range of colours and options – 17 +
- Recyclable and sustainable 100% FSC ash wooden cap
- Paraben, acetone & formaldehyde-free
A new addition to the vegan range is the ‘colour changing’ polish, which changes colour depending on your temperature! Throwback to hyperglo T-shirts, anyone?
Orly Beauty Breathable Nail Polish
ORLY’s entire range is cruelty free and vegan – a breath of fresh air in the nail market! It’s also worth noting that none of their products contain formaldehyde.
I’d recommend the ‘breathable’ range: a one step nail polish, free from nasties, that allows oxygen to reach your actual nail.
- £9.60
- 18ml
- Cruelty-free
- Vegan
- 13-free (of harmful / toxic ingredients)
- Breathable & lacquer ranges
- Complete with argan oil, vitamin B5 and Vitamin C – all contributing to stronger, healthier nails
This range has a whole host of colours (including metallics and transparent) with over 40 on Look Fantastic alone!
Manuka Me Crazy Breathable Nail polish is one of my favourites.
Zao Nail Polish
Zao’s nail polishes are particularly good as they are rich in organic silica, which acts to strengthen your nails.
Interestingly there are multiple studies evaluating the benefits of silica for skin, hair and nail strength. If your nails are a little soft and brittle, it can indicate silicon deficiency, which can lead to an increased risk of nail infections.
The bottles themselves are pretty small, but the range is good – it includes a French manicure option.
- £11.50
- 8ml
- Cruelty-free
- Vegan
- 10-free (of harmful / toxic ingredients)
- 10+ colours
This French Beige version is one of the stand-out products, but there’s a huge range to choose from. Bohemian orange anyone?
Nailberry L’Oxygene Range
Nailberry is one of the most successful nail polish brands. Everything is cruelty free, vegan, and non toxic.
The L’Oxygen range is – as you might imagine – the breathable range, which as you might also imagine is very good for your nails.
This range is also alcohol, acetone formaldehyde free. The bottles are really stylish too.
- £12.75
- 15ml
- Cruelty-free
- Vegan
- 12-free (of harmful / toxic ingredients)
- Alcohol, paraben, phthalate, formaldehyde and gluten-free
- Huge range of colours
A patented oxygenated formula allows air and water molecules through to nourish & strengthen nails. Even when using nail varnish.
Barry M Nail Paint
All Barry M products are cruelty free and vegan. They are also cheap, cheerful, and widely available.
Barry M has an ENORMOUS range of nail polishes: velvet, breathable, neon, glitter, gelly shine, the list goes on…
Although my favourite is the Matte Velvet Polish, there’s something for everyone.
- From £2.99 upwards
- Cruelty-free
- Vegan
- 100s of polishes
- Fantastic price for the quality
These polishes aren’t as kind on the nails as other products in this list – they do contain alcohol, acetate and other chemicals.
But if you’ve got strong nails, then this isn’t a problem.
Cienna Rose Nail Lacquer
Another wonderful nail polish range, which is 12 free, vegan and cruelty free.
As well as having all the usual colours, their glitter polishes and ‘rainbow snow’ product (pictured above) are really popular.
- £12
- Cruelty-free
- Vegan
- 12-free (of harmful / toxic ingredients)
- Huge range
All polishes are enhanced with Vitamin E, B5 and lemongrass oil.
The popular polishes tend to sell out quite regularly, so be quick with this one!
Nail Kind
PETA certified as vegan and cruelty free, Nail Kind are kind to animals, but also kind to your nails.
Its range is up to 85% bio-sourced and has won numerous beauty awards.
It has a range of beautiful colours, the new neon range is perfect for summer.
- £8.95
- Cruelty-free
- Vegan
- Huge range
From bubblegum, to green haze, lady marmalade and California lilac, there is a colour for everyone. No matter your style, age or joie de vivre.
Best Vegan & Cruelty-Free Gel Nail Polish
Jade UK
The Jade UK range has a brilliant range of colours and also glitters too. You can also get all the base coats, top coats, nail treatments from here too.
Jade is a small, UK based business and it has excellent ethics.
Everything is cruelty free, vegan (leaping bunny certified) and 9 free (of harmful ingredients).
- £11.99
- Cruelty-free
- Vegan
- Huge gel range
Bluesky
Bluesky’s gel range – the stoned rose is beautiful – was voted the ‘best home gel nail kit’ by Good Housekeeping.
The company has all the certifications you could ask for: PETA and the vegan society.
The polishes are guaranteed to be 7 free (of the normal harsh chemicals found in polish) and they are really good value.
- £7.50
- 10ml
- PETA-certified cruelty-free
- Vegan Society certified
- 7-free
- Huge range of colours – Christmas to champagne
There is also a ‘nail mail’ offer, where you can get three new colours each month for just £12.
Bluesky also do a nail strengthening gel, which is a lovely addition to your nail arsenal.
Glossify Nail Gel
Glossify has a huge range of gels, including a special one coat gel range and a naturabuild range aimed at strengthening nails
- £14.99
- 15ml
- PETA certified cruelty-free
- Vegan
Although not certified by an official body, Glossify confirms it does not test on animals and all its products are free from animal derivatives making them vegan.
The products are not sold in China and other countries that require animal testing, so we’re confident in recommending them.
You can read more about China’s animal testing laws here
516 Gel Nail Polish
516 (five 16) is another great cruelty free, vegan and non-toxic gel option.
- £10
- 15ml
- Cruelty-free
- Vegan
- 10-free
- 50+ colours
516’s ethos is centred around diversity, and it provides colour swatches for each shade, showing how it will look on different skintones – a real game changer for this industry.
With a huge and diverse range, 516 is highly recommended by us.
Vegan & Cruelty-Free Nail Polish Removers
ORLY: All-Purpose Genius Remover
All ORLY’s products are vegan and cruelty free, so this nail polish remover is a no-brainer.
It removes ‘normal’ polish and gel too. Enhanced with eucalyptus, peach and green tea extract.
Nails Inc: Nail Polish Rapid Remover Pot
Dip your nail into the foam in this pot for fuss-free nail polish removal.
Free from acetone, with peppermint and collagen as the active ingredients, this nail polish remover is supposed to be just for toenails.
Fresh Therapies: Natural Nail Polish Remover
This fresh-scented remover works in the same way as traditional acetone: you pop some on a cotton pad and wipe off your polish!
It is acetone free, and free of other nasties like alcohol and glycerin too.
The polish remover doesn’t wipe your nail of its natural oils (like acetone does), and smells much better than acetone.
Tabitha Eve: Bamboo Nail Polish Remover Pads
This isn’t technically a nail polish remover, but you can use the bamboo pads instead of disposable cotton. Good for your nails, and good for the planet.
FAQs
100% cruelty free and 100% vegan: Glossify, ORLY, Barry M, Cienna Rose, Bluesky, Jade UK, 516, Nail Kind, Nailberry.
Nail Inc is cruelty free and have a vegan range.
Gelish is cruelty free, but not vegan.
Revlon, L’Oreal, Chanel, Givenchy, Dior, Maybelline, Sally Hansen, OPI and Essie.
Sally Hansen is not classified as cruelty free. Although the website says it doesn’t test on animals, it does sell in places like China (where animal testing is required by law), therefore we cannot classify this brand as cruelty free.
OPI used to be cruelty free, but it isn’t any longer. Neither is its parent company Coty Inc. Coty tests on animals and OPI sells in China. OPI has introduced more vegan polishes, but none of the range can be considered cruelty free.
Essie as a company itself, doesn’t test on animals, but sells in regions where tests are performed on products. Therefore it can’t be considered cruelty free.
All products in this list had to be:
– Cruelty free, either certified by PETA or via a cruelty free guarantee
– Vegan. While not all the brands are vegan, all the products featured here are
– Good quality and readily available to buy (a true necessity)
– Where possible, tried and tested by me (I’m slowly getting through the whole list!)
