Cosmetic Testing Research Paper

Each year, millions of mice, rats, rabbits, and guinea pigs are used for cosmetic testing in the United States alone (Abbott 144). Although the public is aware that some cosmetics are tested on animals, they are not cognizant of the sufferings that animals endure during cosmetic tests. Even if cosmetics are labeled “not tested on animals” or “cruelty free,” it does not mean that their ingredients were not tested on animals. Ingredient suppliers could have tested the ingredients before distributing them to cosmetics companies. Additionally, many people do not know that there are alternative testing methods. For my presentation, I decided to direct my argument toward cosmetics consumers instead of the cosmetic industry. I chose women ages 20-25 …show more content…
An acute oral toxicity test identifies the hazards of a substance. A genotoxicity test is used to determine if a substance will cause cell mutations, leading to cancer. A skin sensitization test is used to determine if a chemical substance will cause an allergic reaction. An eye irritation/corrosion test is done to test for reversible and irreversible eye damage (“Cosmetics Tests”). After explaining the different types of cosmetic tests, I discussed what the animals used for these tests suffer. During skin and eye irritation tests, chemicals are rubbed onto the shaved skin or dripped into the eyes of restrained animals. For a toxicity test, the animals are force-fed using a feeding tube (“Cosmetics Tests”). This is one of the strongest supporting evidence for my argument. This shows that audience that these animals have to endure many sufferings to ensure the safety of cosmetic products for human use. However, acute oral toxicity, genotoxicity, skin sensitization, and eye irritation/corrosion are just the most common tests for cosmetics. I did not list other tests that use less cruel procedures. Nonetheless, because time was an important factor for my presentation, I could not list all the different types of cosmetic tests. To minimize the …show more content…
While some animals are kept for other tests, others must be euthanized. Two quick methods often used to kill small animals are breaking their spines and decapitation (“Cosmetics Tests”). With this information, the audience can see that animals are not always given a quick death after cosmetic testing. This information causes my argument to become biased since it does not examine what happens to the animals that are neither killed nor kept for other tests. However, I stated that because animals used for testing are usually bred specifically for that purpose, most of them would not be able to survive if they were released into the wild (“Cosmetics