Is Dove Soap Vegan 2023?

Dove is a trusted brand owned by Unilever. It’s known for producing quality beauty products. The American company started its incredible journey in 1957 with the unique non-dry beauty soap. Today, the signature Dove soap hydrates the skin better, leaving it soft, radiant, and smooth. If you’ve been using Dove soap, you may be wondering, is Dove soap vegan?

Dove soap is probably not vegan. A lot of the Dove soap bars have artificial colors in them, which have been tested on animals. There are also a lot of questionable ingredients that can be sourced from both animals and plants such as stearic acid, lauric acid, glycerin and caramel. Dove does not perform any animal testing anymore and are certified by PETA’s Beauty Without Bunnies Program.

I made a table below with all Dove bar soaps together with its vegan status.

Dove Bar Soaps	Vegan Status
Original Beauty Bar	Probably not.
Soothing Care Beauty Bar	Probably not.
Pink Beauty Bar	Probably not.
Sensitive Skin Beauty Bar	Probably not.
Care & Protect Antibacterial Beauty Bar	Probably not.
Relaxing Beauty Bar	Probably not.
Gentle Exfoliating Beauty Bar	Probably not.
Shea Butter Beauty Bar	Probably not.
Glowing Beauty Bar	Probably not.
Restoring Beauty Bar	Probably not.
Awakening Beauty Bar	Probably not.
Winter Care Beauty Bar	Probably not.
Indulging Beauty Bar	Probably not.
Rejuvenating Beauty Bar	Probably not.
Cool Moisture Beauty Bar	Probably not.
Summer Care Beauty Bar	Probably not.

Now let’s take a deep dive into the ingredients.

Dove Soap Ingredients

Below I have listed ingredients from all Dove soap bar products that I could find.

I’ve also highlighted the ones that we need to take a closer look at.

• Sodium Lauroyl Isethionate
• Stearic Acid
• Lauric Acid
• Sodium Oleate
• Water (Eau)
• Sodium Isethionate
• Sodium Stearate
• Cocamidopropyl Betaine,
• Fragrance (Parfum)
• Sodium Laurate
• Tetrasodium EDTA
• Sodium Chloride
• Kaolin or (ou)
• Titanium Dioxide
• Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract
• Red 4 (CI 14700) – Carmine not vegan
• Red 33 (CI 17200)
• Glycerin
• Water (Aqua)
• Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate
• Benzalkonium Chloride
• Dipropylene Glycol
• Blue 1 (CI 42090)
• Blue 1 Lake (CI 42090)
• Yellow 5 (CI 19140)
• Yellow 5 Lake (CI 19140)
• Yellow 6 (CI 15985)
• Violet 2 (CI 60730)
• Red 30 Lake (CI 73360)
• Green 5 (CI 61570)
• Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Oil
• Microcrystalline Wax
• Mangifera Indica (Mango) Seed Butter
• Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil
• Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil
• Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil
• Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter
• Caramel
• Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil
• Paeonia Officinalis Flower Extract
• Iron Oxides (CI 77499)

Non-Vegan Ingredients That Can Be Found In Dove Soap

Artificial Colors

As you’ve might have read in the beginning of this article.

Artificial colors are not vegan-friendly, because of animal testing.

The experiments where made mostly on mice.

This is an outdated way of performing testing, it’s unnecessary and cruel.

Newer technology enables us to use computer simulations and cell tissues instead of animals.

This is why this ingredients fall under the non-vegan ingredients.

Red 4 (Carmine)

Carmine is made from insects and are not vegan-friendly.

Questionable Ingredient Which Could Be Non-Vegan In Dove Soap

Stearic Acid

This is a fatty acid that can be derived from animals such as pork, which is the most common way.

It can be derived from plants and in this case it’s not stated the source of this ingredient.

It’s a highly questionable ingredients for vegans.

This is why I put probably not as vegan status for all the Dove soaps, since this ingredient can be found in all of them.

Lauric Acid & Sodium Laurate

Lauric Acid is probably vegan.

It’s a fatty acid usually derived from palm and coconut oil, but can be derived from an animal’s milk.

Again hard to know the source of this ingredient since it’s not stated on the product.

Sodium Oleate

Sodium oleate is salt from oleaic acid.

It can be sourced from both animals and plants.

Sodium Stearate

This ingredient is an salt that can be made from palm oil, rapeseed oil or sunflower oil.

If it’s sourced from palm oil then it’s important that it’s RSPO certified.

RSPO helps make the production sustainable with little to low impact on the environment, ecosystems and wildlife.

Unilever who owns Dove is a RSPO member, which means that palm oil used in Dove is indeed vegan-friendly.

Glycerin

This is a liquid that can be found in natural fats, both animals and plants.

Benzalkonium Chloride

Also a fatty acid that can come from animals or plants.

Dipropylene Glycol

I couldn’t find what this made from so I will link to Wikipedia.

Caramel

This ingredients is a tricky one.

It’s made from sugar, which could potentially been bleached with bone char from dead cows.

Not only that, it’s common to use dairy to make caramel.

If this was the case it would obviously make this ingredient non-vegan.

Vegan Alternative To Dove Soap?

Given the high demand for vegan products, you can find a vegan alternative to dove soap almost anywhere you shop.

Some of the popular vegan soap brands are:

Aegean

Aegean is a natural soap bar that contains organic ingredients and premium essential oils.

It’s vegan and chemical-free – leaves your skin with a velvety smooth finish.

In addition, it uses a special formula to balance out the moisture levels.

Olive Oil Soap Bar

This is a 100% vegan soap that is tested for quality ingredients.

Some of the components include soap base, water, olive oil, and essential oils.

Depending on your needs, you can use the soap for body, bath, face, and hands.

Kiss My Face

This is a vegan soap that contains natural ingredients like sea salt, water, and olive oil.

Since Kiss My Face is made from handcrafted oil, it’s ultra-moisturizing and good for the skin.

Also, it’s fragrance-free and contains nourishing antioxidants that leave your skin soft and fresh.

Magick Soap

Magick Soap is loaded with ingredients like sunflower oil, Shea butter, olive oil, vitamin E, and soybean.

The aroma is far much lighter than those with heavy chemical odors.

It has more unique scents than organic soaps that feature cranberry and cinnamon.

FAQ’s

How Is Dove’s Environmental Impact?

Dove strives to create products with low carbon and uses renewable energy in manufacturing.

The brand has committed itself to sustainability.

It has addressed the use of single-pack packaging, which is a contributor to plastic waste.

Also, Dove is working to develop environmentally friendly products for beauty bar multipacks.

Even when transporting the soap, Dove uses clean shipping methods to reduce carbon emissions globally.

This is achieved by switching from land to rail to reduce the environmental impact.

If they have to use tracks, they ensure they are environmentally friendly too.

Is Dove Cruelty-Free?

Dove is cruelty-free. They have been cruelty-free certified at PETA’s Beauty Without Bunnies Program.

Conclusion

WIth so many artifiical colors and questionable ingredients in Dove, it’s very unlikely it’s vegan.

So many question marks regarding the source of the ingredients.

I did find some great 100% vegan-friendly soaps that you can use instead.

Even tho Dove is now cruelty-free by PETA, you can still find artificial colors which have been tested on animals and probably still are.

I hope you found this article useful.

Stay vegan!