How to put together a vegan skin care set

Discover our favourite vegan skin care ingredients and products for nourished, glowing skin

Choosing effective, natural skin care products can be a tough job, but it's even harder when you're vegan. At Hotel Chocolat, we've made a conscious effort to reduce our use of animal products. A significant number of our chocolates, tipples, and Rabot 1745 beauty products are suitable for vegans.

With extensive experience developing our own replenishing moisturisers, soothing lip balms, and cleansing shower gels, we like to think we've finally mastered the art of creating high-quality, cruelty-free products.

We know it's helpful to learn about different cosmetic ingredients and products before making any purchasing decisions, so here's our guide to creating a vegan skin care set that works for your skin. Whether you're curating a vegan skin care bundle as a gift for a friend or want to perfect your own plant-based beauty routine, these are our favourite products and ingredients.

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Vegan skin care ingredients

Before buying any vegan skin care products, we always recommend doing some research into the best ingredients for your complexion.

Luckily, lots of vegan creams, cleansers, and balms already contain a high percentage of natural ingredients, which generally reduces the chance of them also containing harsh, irritating chemicals. However, it's still worth knowing about the specific benefits of key natural ingredients as certain products could be more (or less) suitable for your skin type.

Everyone's skin is different, so it only makes sense to choose products based on your skin's specific needs!

Here's some information on a few natural ingredients frequently found in vegan skin care products.

Coconut: a natural nourisher

Most skin care products require a foundational ingredient for lathering, providing a creamy consistency, or for diluting essential oils. In our opinion, coconut oil is one of the most effective and versatile ingredients that can fulfil this crucial role. Rich in vitamin E, fatty acids, and antioxidants, it can be used as a nourishing base for sumptuous soaps and skin-calming creams.

Most skin types should be fine with this gentle ingredient.

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Tea Tree: powerful but potent

Over the last few years, tea tree has become a popular natural beauty ingredient. And it's easy to understand why - it's anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, and can reduce oiliness, just for a start. Many people even credit it with helping their acne and keeping hormonal breakouts at bay.

So, what's the catch?

While tea tree oil is certainly a powerful natural ingredient, it's also extremely potent and is known to irritate some people's skin. If you're going to use it as a DIY skincare ingredient, don't use it directly on your skin at full strength. Dilute every 1 or 2 drops of tea tree oil with at least 12 drops of carrier oil.

Cacao: our secret weapon exfoliator

It will come as no surprise that we think cacao is a rather magical seed. After all, we have it to thank for all our delectable chocolates!

However, few people realise that there are endless uses of cacao that extend far beyond our irresistible vegan truffles and hot chocolates. We've found innovative ways to use our leftover cacao shells across our products, from infusing our gins and beer with a chocolatey edge to adding deeply exfoliating finely-ground cacao shells to our pumice soaps and body scrubs.

We adore recycling our cacao shells as a natural and vegan-friendly alternative to microbeads (now banned in the UK) and harsh exfoliating chemicals that are unsuitable for frequent use and sensitive skin types.

Vegan or natural - there's a difference!

When looking for vegan skin care products, remember that natural doesn't always mean vegan. Natural products can still contain things like honey, so make sure you examine the ingredients list.

Curating a vegan skin care set

Once you have an idea of what ingredients you want to feature in your vegan skin care set, you can look around for some products. If you want to put together a full set of beauty products, consider using the following as a checklist:

Cleanser

Look for face wash, shower gel, hand soap, and body soap. We adore our extra-hydrating Cacao and Aloe Hand Wash and triple-milled Cacao and Coconut Soap Bar.

Moisturiser

Keep skin nourished with a soothing hand cream, rich body butter, and hydrating face cream. Our current vegan favourites include our Cacao and Almond Body Butter and Cacao and Coconut Hand Cream.

Take a look at our article - what is body butter?

Exfoliator

A little buffing always helps skin stay smooth and radiant. Discover our Avocado and Sour Orange Hand Scrub, Pumice Pod Soap, and Coffee Body Scrub. Always choose a gentle exfoliator for delicate facial skin.

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Face oil

For an extra luxurious skin care collection, invest in nutrient-rich face oil. Our Avocado and Rosehip Face Oil is brimming with nourishing botanicals like grapeseed and jojoba.

Gifting a vegan pamper package - add a special touch

If you're gifting this skin care set to a friend, why not add a few more relaxing treats to the mix? Alongside your vegan cream, exfoliator, and cleanser, include some relaxing face mist, a vegan candle (look for soy wax instead of beeswax), and any other goodies you can think of to create a rejuvenating spa experience.

Some vegan nibbles, such as delectable chocolates, enrobed ginger, and Turkish delight, are guaranteed to delight, too. What's a pamper session without a treat or two?

Our Rabot 1745 beauty products

A world of vegan skin care awaits…

Discover our beauty range at Rabot 1745 and fall in love with the nourishing ingredients and blissful scents of tropical Saint Lucia. Many of our products are suitable for vegans. Using the best natural ingredients and skin-friendly botanicals, our products are inspired by the wild beauty of our cacao estate.

We hope you adore the collection as much as we do. You can also learn about our Planet Pledge and how we're working to minimise our environmental impact.

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