The Use Of Research On Cosmetics And Its Effects On Society

Blinded by Beauty On average, 26 million animals are used every year for the use of research on cosmetics. These tests should be banned for many obvious reasons such as it is clearly cruel and inhumane, they cost more than alternative methods, and they do not predict an accurate result due to the anatomical differences. Animals are being unfairly tortured and killed for research on ingredients that people are unknowingly using in their everyday lives. Here’s an important question to consider; if an ingredient is potentially toxic or harmful in any way, why is it even being considered as part of a product to be used on our faces and bodies? There are other ways to test cosmetics that do not involve treating animals so unfairly, yet the†¦show more content†¦Of these, the two most commonly used and deemed as most cruel are the Draize Eye Test and the LD50. The Draize test involves holding rabbits in physical restraints (with clips holding their eyelids open) so that chem icals can be dripped in their eyes which leads to reddening, swelling, ulceration, and even blindness. A few of the products that call for this method would be makeup, dishwashing liquid, and drain cleaner. The LD50 stands for the legal dose of 50 which determines which dose given resulted in the death of 50% of the animals. This is mainly used to determine the dangers of chemicals until the animals die or are killed. These delicate creatures are being denied the behavior that is only their natural instinct. Would you allow a child to be caged in a confined space, tortured, mutilated, all for the testing of say, a new brand of lipstick or mascara? Why is it any different for a helpless animal? The feelings of those who are used are treated equal to that of disposable lab equipment and that isn’t right in any sense. Another factor that adds to my position is the cost for which these tests are ran. Humane Society International did a study that showed the federal government spen ds over 14 billion dollars of the taxpayers’ money annually on vivisection (the practice of performing operations on live animals for the purpose of experimentation on