Vegan Nail Polish Guide: List of the Best Cruelty-Free Brands & Natural Nail Lacquer Options

Envision a world where nail polish isn’t just about vibrant colors to match your personality and mood and long-lasting shine—but also about ethics, healthy ingredients, and compassion. Here, a startling truth emerges: within many mainstream nail polishes lies a concealed secret—a disturbing cocktail of harmful chemicals, toxins, and even notorious carcinogens like formaldehyde. To make matters worse, many polish brands utilize animal testing, and a handful may shock you by containing animal or insect-derived ingredients.

Join us as we embark on this colorful journey into a world where conscious beauty meets vibrant, ethically-aligned nails, setting a new standard for vegan-certified beauty brands, ethical and eco-conscious fashion, and consciously crafted nail care.

What is Vegan & Cruelty-Free Nail Polish?

When it comes to nail polish, you’ll want to look for two—or ideally 3—things.

1. It’s made without any animal products
2. The polish is cruelty-free, meaning it was produce without the use of animal testing
3. It’s natural (or “healthy”), and made without the top toxins and carcinogens commonly found in nail polishes (such as formaldehyde).

Some brands that are not vegan do offer vegan-friendly nail polish options (like 100% Pure, which is mostly vegan, but not entirely). Other brands that have vegan options are not cruelty-free (they may test on animals here in the U.S. or sell their products in China where animal testing is required).

Since we’re entering a time when there is such a plethora of options out there, I’m only including nail polish brands that offer a 100% vegan line of polishes on the list below.

Vegan Nail Polish Brands

All of the brands below carry 100% vegan nail polish options. Many (but not all) of these options are also natural, non-toxic, gluten-free, and beyond. You can find options for vegan gel nail polish, acrylic nail polish, long lasting nail polish, clear base coats, top coats, and even antifungal nail polishes!

786 Cosmetics

786 Cosmetics offers a stunning array of vegan nail polish shades inspired by diverse cultures and countries, providing a unique and globally-inspired nail color experience.

Deco Miami

Deco Miami combines vegan and cruelty-free nail polishes with chic, retro-inspired packaging for a touch of vintage glamour in modern beauty routines.

Dimension Nails

Dimension Nails boasts nail polishes infused with stunning holographic effects, adding an extra dimension to your vegan manicure.

Dr.’s Remedy

Dr.’s Remedy, founded by podiatrists, takes a scientific approach to vegan nail polish, offering shades that promote nail health with natural ingredients.

Ella + Mila

Ella + Mila showcases a delightful selection of vegan nail polish colors, coupled with their commitment to creating products that are both safe and stylish.

Kester Black

Kester Black impresses with their sustainable practices and an extensive palette of vegan nail polish shades, inspired by the beauty of Australia.

Lauren B. Beauty

Lauren B. Beauty stands out with their luxurious vegan nail polish collections, inspired by the chic and glamorous lifestyle of Los Angeles.

Londontown Lakur

Londontown Lakur combines the sophistication of London with vegan nail polish that nourishes and strengthens your nails.

Mineral Fusion

Mineral Fusion, a brand committed to purity and sustainability, offers vegan nail polishes infused with mineral-rich ingredients, ensuring both vibrant color and nail health in every application.

NCLA

NCLA Beauty offers a wide variety of vegan nail polish shades, including trendy collaborations and unique collections to suit every style.

Pacifica

Pacifica Nail Polish, readily available at mainstream stores like Target, offers an accessible and extensive collection of vegan nail polish shades.

Piggy Paint

Piggy Paint specializes in non-toxic, kid-friendly vegan nail polish, ensuring a safe and fun manicure experience for children.

Trust Fund Beauty

Trust Fund Beauty combines humor and style in their vegan nail polish collections, providing a dose of playfulness with every coat.

Full List of Cruelty-Free Vegan Nail Polish Brands

• 786 Cosmetics
• Aquarella
• Barry M
• Base Coat Nail Salon
• Beauty Without Cruelty Nail Polish
• BKind
• Candy X Paints
• Color Club
• Dazzle Dry
• Deco Miami
• Dimension Nails
• Dipwell (vegan acrylic nail polish dip system)
• Dr. Remedy
• Ella + Mila
• Elle Polish
• Fairypants
• Floss Gloss
• Gitti
• Habit Cosmetics (eco-friendly nail polish)
• Heroine.NYC
• Jolie Vegan Nail Polish
• Karma Organic Spa (Karma Hues)
• Kester Black
• La Colour Couture
• Lauren B. Beauty
• Live Love Polish
• Londontown Lakur
• LVX
• Madam Glam
• Manicurist
• Miss Frankie
• Nailberry
• NCLA Beauty
• Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics
• Olive Ave
• OOO Polish
• ORLY
• OZN
• Pacifica Nail Polish (available at Target and other mainstream stores)
• Palate Polish
• People of Color Beauty
• Picture Polish
• Piggy Paint (kids non-toxic nail polish)
• POPbeauty
• Pretty Woman NYC
• Priti NYC
• Raw Nails
• Sienna Byron Bay
• SOPHi Nail Polish
• Sparitual Vegan Nail Polish
• Sundays
• Tenoverten
• TOMATO
• Trust Fund Beauty
• Veque

Did we miss your favorite cruelty-free nail polish brand? Give them a shout in the comments below!

Kids Nail Polish

Painting nails can be a really fun activity for kids—but it’s important to find options that are not only cruelty-free, but also non-toxic and safe for little ones.

The most notable kids nail polish brand is Piggy Paint, which they call as “natural as mud.” We’ve tested Piggy Paint nail polish with lots of kids and little hands, and they’ve all loved it. This polish is not meant to be long lasting—but rather a fun activity that can easily come off without nail polish remover if desired.

Nail Polish Removers

When you switch to more natural nail polish, you may as well switch to more conscious polish remover as well. After all, we vote with our dollars! Here are a few of the vegan options that exist today. You can order many of these online, find them at natural foods stores, and even at grocery stores like Sprouts and Whole Foods.

• Ella + Mila Soy Polish Remover
• Karma Naturals
• Mineral Fusion
• Plant Therapy Tropical Flower Acetone-Free Remover
• Priti NYC Soy Nail Polish Remover
• Zoya 3-in-1 Remove+

A Few of My Favorite Nail Polish Brands

I filmed a video sharing some of the vegan-friendly nail polish brands I’ve tried and my thoughts about each. Watch below!

Vegan nail polish was once nearly impossible to find, but today dozens of brands have sprouted up changing the game in the nail decor industry. These days you can even find entire nail salons that are cruelty-free, or at the very leave offer vegan and cruelty-free nail polish options!

There is an eco-friendly nail salon down the street from me in Sacramento that has an entire wall of cruelty-free nail polishes to choose from. In fact, everything they use in the salon (such as nail polish remover and lotion) is cruelty-free and natural. If you can support those more conscious salons, all the better!

But if you go to a salon you’re not familiar with or you know is not particularly vegan-friendly, you can always bring your own polish with you and they are generally happy to use that. Want bonus points? Leave them with a polite request to carry some vegan polishes in the future. It’s sure to help their business as much as it will help you!

More Vegan Beauty & Lifestyle Guides

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