Hair today ...

Although I usually write about food, the vegan lifestyle encompasses much more. Many vegans (and other compassionate people, too) make a point of choosing household and personal-care products that don't involve animal suffering, such as cosmetics that don't contain animal ingredients, and that aren't tested on animals.

Fortunately, just as vegan food choices have increased dramatically in the past few years, so have cruelty-free choices. And guidance on what products are cruelty-free is available from several sources.

For example, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has lists of companies that do and don’t test on animals. It says, "Companies listed either have signed PETA’s statement of assurance or provided a statement verifying that they do not conduct or commission any nonrequired animal tests on ingredients, formulations, or finished products and that they pledge not to do so in the future." The don't-test list also indicates which companies make only vegan products.

Another Compassionate Shopping Guide lists companies that do not test finished products, formulations or ingredients on animals. Companies on this list must also "Not purchase from suppliers ingredients that have been tested on animals after a fixed cut-off date..." This list is from the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics, a group of several major animal protection groups.

With the help of information like this, my home is stocked with everything from Citra-Drain to keep my pipes clear to Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap to keep my face clean.

The only area where I'm still looking for the perfect cruelty-free alternative is hair color. I sometimes use henna, which gives good results but is time-consuming and messy to apply. (Good thing the Citra-Drain works so well, or my bathtub might still be stopped up with henna residue.)

I just found a Web site, My Makeup Mirror, with an article on how to "Color Your Hair Without Coloring the Bunny." It gives a lot of suggestions that I'll consider trying in the future. But I wonder, have any of you tried a cruelty-free hair color that you particularly like (or would recommend avoiding, for that matter)? And how important is it to you to find cruelty-free household and personal products?