Desert Essence

Hey guys. I know it's been a while, but honestly school has taken over my life. Also, it often takes days for companies to reply to my inquiries. Then, even when they do, some don't answer all my questions and I have to contact them once again. It's all a mission, but I truly enjoy it. :)


On my hiatus I was able to contact Desert Essence. If you have never heard of Desert Essence, they sell body products which range from: skin care, bath & body products, oils, hair care, dental care, baby products, and even some organic products. I thought it would be good to research them, as I know among all things in the beauty world, finding a good skin and body company is very difficult.


I emailed them using the template I always use. Which I first saw on VeggieBeauty's blog. (Check out her blog, it is sooo useful). Here is what it looks like:

To Whomever it May Concern:
I am doing research on animal testing, and I need to verify a few key points about your company.
1. Does your company test ingredients or finished products on animals?
2. Do you test ingredients or products on animals through a 3rd party?
3. Do your manufacturers test ingredients or products on animals?
4. Are you owned or affliliated with any companies that test products or ingredients on animals?
5. Do you/your parent company currently or have plans to market and sell your products in the Chinese market, which requires animal testing by law to sell in that country?
6. Do you use palm oil/carnuaba wax in any of your products? If so, is it from an organic and sustainable source?
Thank you so much for the information and your time.
Also, note that any correspondence I receive will be published on
humanelychic.blogspot.com, which is a privately owned blog.

-Camila 

I received a reply from them about 2-3 days later. Which said the following:

Hello Camila,
Thank you for writing to us with your question. One of our brand’s core values is that animals are part of Nature and are to be valued and protected. We absolutely do not believe in animal testing. We do not do it, nor do we allow any third party to do so on our behalf. We advise all our ingredient suppliers of our practice, and will only buy cruelty free ingredients. Our company is not associated with any that conducts animal testing.
Some of our products contain palm oil. We look to use sustainable palm oil when we can. For example, earlier this year, we launched 3 soap bars with sustainable palm oil (RESPO certified).

We do not sell our product in China.
Please let us know if you have any further questions.
Best Regards,

Desert Essence Customer Care

P.O. Box 14007
Hauppauge, NY 11788
+ Email: CustomerCare@DesertEssence.comü Visit us on the web at www.DesertEssence.comP Please consider the environment before printing this email.

As you can see from the reply, they answered all my questions (even the China one; which they usually avoid)! I also enjoyed the tone of the email compared to replies I receive from big brand named companies, such as MAC,  Estee Lauder, and L'oreal. Which often include pages and pages of how they have been making an effort to end animal testing since 1990-something. I truly appreciate the companies that get to the point. 

As you might know if you've been following my blog for a while now (if you're new WELCOME) I have three elements I use to determine if a company is 100% cruelty-free. 
1. I look at their parent company. I do not believe in supporting a brand which is under a big company that does not necessarily also have a 100% cruelty-free status. In those cases, you often don't know where your money is going. Often, it might be funding animal testing.
2. I look at the suppliers of the company's raw ingredients. Companies I consider to be 100% cruelty-free will have verified that they make sure the manufcatures of the raw ingredients comply. They are often also accredited by an animal rights organization such as PETA or LeapingBunny. This just gives me more reassurance that the suppliers are also cruelty-free.3. I look to see if the products are sold in China. I do these, because for cosmetic products to be sold in the Chinese market cosmetic companies must test their products on animals. Meaning, that if a company sells it's products in that market it cannot be cruelty-free. [Disclaimer: Although I ask about vegan products, I do not use that criteria exclusively to determine whether a company is cruelty-free. I just do it for the convenience of my vegan friends. :) ] 
As you can see from my correspondence with Desert Essence they meet all of the criteria!!! Also, just to be on the safe side, they are also on Leaping Bunny's cruelty-free list. 
I hope this was helpful! I'm trying to keep my posts quick, so I can get to the point without going on a tangent. Please let me know if you prefer that method. Also, what do you think about my correspondence? Let me know. :)
If you are interested in their products, I actually posted a review on my beauty blog about their "Throughly Clean Face Wash-for oily combination skin." Click the link if you're interested. 
Until Next Time,
Camila