Nearly two years ago I decided to embark on a new way of eating; mainly for health reasons. I’ve heard the word VEGAN spoken only a few times before but always quickly dismissing it and its definition as radical PETA protestors, defensive tree huggers and a very hippyish way of living. Never in my wildest dreams would I have expected that my choice to be vegan would impact my choice of beauty products….
But then I saw the documentary “EARTHLINGS” on Netflix and my conscious was constantly being filled with images of the gruesome treatment of animals and the fact that I have in some manner contributed to this industry. But what was more horrifying about those images was the fact that all of that suffering wasn’t necessary.
Why can’t products made to enhance ones appearance could also be animal friendly. The solution, Cruelty Free products!
Once I learned of this hope, I immediately felt liberated that I no longer had to contribute to the suffering of other living creatures and that I could still look good while supporting the animals. But that feeling of liberation was soon silenced by a road block that is all too familiar to many women of color face: “They don’t offer those products for dark women!”
This harsh reality left me feeling defeated and discouraged. I really wanted to fully transition into using cruelty free products but it was already so hard to find products that worked well for my now natural hair, makeup that actually matched my skin tone and skin care products that didn’t have me looking like a pimple faced teenage girl going through puberty all over again. But I didn’t want to stay discouraged!
I began doing a ton of research on the options that were out there for all women. I looked at blogs, websites, read books and watched 100s of videos on YouTube of the potential options that were available on the market. Now to be honest I can count on my hand the amount of times that I saw products lines or even companies that offered and marketed cruelty free products specifically to women of color. But the fact is that these companies did exist and I knew that if this matter of using products that are not tested on animals were important to me that there must be someone else out there in the world of colored girls that is also searching for what the beauty industry has to offer.
So this leads me to the Genesis of this blog: Petite Curvy Curls. I have flirted with the idea of starting a beauty blog ever since I saw my first beauty video on YouTube (Thanks ItsJudysTime). But I could never really figure what it was that I had to offer that wasn’t already being done by others. But now having made this decision to use products that are not tested on animals, I’ve discovered that it’s not easy to find much information on beauty products that are both cruelty free and woman of color friendly (also referred to as W.O.C.).
My hopes is that this blog not only informs others of the options out there for W.O.C. that are conscious of the issue of animal cruelty but that it can also bring a spot light to the many companies that are taking the initiative to produce great products.