Why can an animal ingredient be vegetarian?
Vegetarian diets exclude substances that require an animal's death, rather than every substance an animal produces. Products from living animals, such as milk, eggs and qualifying wool fat, are generally acceptable. Vegan diets exclude substances of animal origin. Vegetarian and vegan answer different questions, even if packaging would prefer one convenient tick box. Your own ethical criteria can also be stricter than the dietary definition.1
Lanolin is the oily material extracted from sheep's wool, then cleaned and refined. Its animal origin is clear; whether a particular product meets your vegetarian criteria depends on its sourcing. Do not assume that the ingredient name alone tells you what happens to the sheep.12
How do you check a product?
Check the full ingredient list rather than relying on the front of the jar, which has appointed itself the publicity department. Lanolin appears in moisturisers, hand creams, lipsticks, sunscreens and some medicinal creams.2
- 1Look for lanolin and related names, including anhydrous lanolin, lanolin alcohol, wool alcohols, wool fat, wool wax, wool grease and Amerchol.
- 2Ask the manufacturer where the lanolin comes from and whether the sheep will be slaughtered, if that determines acceptability for you.
- 3Check the remaining ingredients before deciding whether the whole product meets your criteria. In medicines, check both the active drug and the inactive ingredients.
What about lanolin in vitamin D?
Lanolin is a major commercial source of vitamin D3, also called colecalciferol. Many lanolin sourced D3 preparations are acceptable to vegetarians, but an animal sourced ingredient is not vegan. For a particular supplement or medicine, ask about the ingredient source and the rest of the formulation. Medicine manufacturers sometimes cannot specify exact sources, and suppliers can change. A pharmacist can help identify a suitable alternative medicine where one exists.13
Does vegetarian mean suitable for sensitive skin?
No. Lanolin can cause irritation or allergic contact dermatitis, an allergic skin reaction after contact. Skin already affected by eczema or wounds is more prone to sensitisation. Stop using a product that causes itching, swelling, redness or blistering, and seek medical advice if symptoms persist. A clinician can investigate suspected lanolin allergy with patch testing. If lanolin allergy is confirmed, avoid lanolin and its derivatives.2
