Is Chi and Biosilk Cruelty-free and Vegan?

The Houston-based Farouk Systems own CHI haircare. Farouk Systems was founded by Farouk Shami in 1986, a hairdresser with a mission to provide professional products in the beauty industry.

CHI and Biosilk are the leading trademarks of Farouk systems, through which they sell most of their professional hair care products.

Dr. Shami owns up to 27 patents and created the world’s first hair color without ammonia. The Biosilk Silk Therapy Line was also the first to use silk proteins in hair care.

Farouk also began the first Ceramic Hairstyling Iron (CHI), which made his corporation famous for incorporating NASA technology to revolutionize the hair industry.

A lot of our readers have been asking whether CHI and Biosilk are cruelty-free brands. We have studied the brand and all of its products and have a result.

Are Chi and Biosilk cruelty-free? Keep reading to find out the details.

Is Chi and Biosilk Cruelty-Free?

To qualify as a cruelty-free brand, Chi and Biosilk have to meet the following criteria that we will discuss one by one. These are:

• They should not test their products on animals – cruelty-free companies are not allowed by accreditation organizations to test their products or ingredients on animals.
• They should not test on animals even when required by the law – Which means that they shouldn’t sell in countries where animal testing is required by the law.
• They shouldn’t sell in mainland China – China is the one country that obligates animal testing on all cosmetic products shipping into their market.

By meeting all three criteria, Chi and Biosilk qualify for our checklist for cruelty-free companies.

Are Chi and Biosilk Products Tested on Animals?

These two brands have not provided enough information regarding their animal testing policies.

Both Chi and Biosilk are owned by Farouk Systems, which states that they sell their products to mainland China in their official animal testing statement.

Here is an email response from the company’s customer service.

However, recently FSI confirmed that none of their products are tested on animals. Here is a screenshot of the company’s animal testing policy :

Farouk Systems Inc. together with CHI and Biosilk confirms that they do not conduct animal testing on any of their products, either vertebrate or inevertebrate, so they satisfy this first criteria of joining our cruelty-free list.

Do They Test on Animals When Required by the Law? Or using Third-Party?

For a long time, CHI & Biosilk products were sold in countries where animal testing is required by law. Although the parent company denied it, there were traces of their products in countries like China.

But now, they confirm that they do not allow any third parties to test on their behalf, nor do they carry any lab tests on animals on their cosmetic products.

Are Chi and Biosilk Products Sold in China?

It’s lawfully required that all products selling to mainland China be tested on animals before being distributed to chinese retail shops. As we’ve mentioned before, CHI & Biosilk are both governed by the policies of Farouk Systems Inc, which has confirmed that they do not sell in China whatsoever.

FSI has the following to say about the sale of their products in China

For this reason, we can undoubtedly conclude that CHI and Biosilk beauty products do not get sold on the Chinese market, where animal testing is required by the law.

Do Chi and Biosilk Have Cruelty-free Accreditations and Certifications?

Currently, there are no official accreditations or certifications tied to Chi and Biosilk as a cosmetic brand.

PETA has the most lenient laws regarding cruelty-free accreditations, but still, Farouk Systems Inc doesn’t make it to their cruelty-free list.

Is Chi and Biosilk Parent Company Farouk Systems Cruelty-Free?

Chi and Biosilk have not provided enough information regarding their cruelty-free status. The official website claims that they don’t involve animals in the research, development, or testing of their products.

Nevertheless, basing our results on the fact that they sell their products in mainland China, we can’t say that the manufacturer is 100% cruelty-free.

Is Chi and Biosilk Vegan?

A vegan manufacturer should not have used animal-derived ingredients or animal by-products to manufacture any of its products. This is the definition we base our analysis on.

Farouk Systems Inc. confirms that they use certain animal by-products such as silk and sheep’s wool proteins in the production process.

While all the products of Chi and Biosilk are not vegan, the company does claim to have some vegan options which they have not provided yet.

Be on the lookout for any updates from the company and make sure to check out some of their vegan offerings on www.chi.com

Summary

Farouk’s animal testing policy has confirmed that they quit selling in mainland China where animal testing is required by the law, plus the company has met all our criteria. To this point, it’s right to say that Chi and Biosilks are also cruelty-free.