A Revealing Restaurant Moment

During a London dinner outing, a simple inquiry about halal steak left restaurant staff bewildered, scrambling to offer vegan alternatives instead. While plant-based dining has conquered mainstream menus, halal options remain conspicuously absent from many establishments.

The food industry’s oversight mirrors a curious pattern within beauty retail where halal-compliant products exist abundantly, yet their certification remains mysteriously unannounced.

Decoding Halal Beauty Standards

For cosmetics to achieve halal status—meaning ‘permissible’ within Islamic tradition—formulations must exclude alcohol, porcine derivatives, carnivorous animal ingredients, blood-based components. The requirements extend further through cruelty-free testing protocols, sustainable sourcing practices, ethical packaging choices. Unlike vegan standards, halal permits beeswax alongside honey.

Contemporary halal beauty has evolved into an expansive category. Jolie Nubani, cofounder of Shade M (a certified halal brand), notes the exclusion of “sulphates (including SLS, SLES), parabens, formaldehydes, phthalates, mineral oil”—ingredients many consumers now consciously avoid. Yet while ‘clean’, ‘natural’, ‘vegan’, ‘eco-friendly’ dominate product packaging, ‘halal’ remains conspicuously absent despite encompassing these popular attributes.

The Billion-Dollar Invisible Market

Consider the economics where by 2025, the global halal beauty market projects a value of $52.02 billion—nearly matching the natural beauty sector’s anticipated $54 billion by 2027.

Why then does halal remain invisible within UK skincare vocabulary? Perhaps Muslims themselves haven’t vocalized needs loudly enough. Maybe other communities advocate more assertively for their requirements. Or perhaps brown alongside black beauty traditions have suffered erasure, rebranded as ‘clean’ or natural beauty through cultural whitewashing.

Political Fears Silence Certification

Several factors explain halal’s absence from packaging. First, explicit labeling might frame halal as exclusively ‘Muslim territory,’ when actually these practices constitute lifestyle choices available to everyone. Second, the term carries political weight. Might brands worry about sales impact or public perception? With Islamophobia surging, halal certification could signal Muslim community allyship—potentially risky business, given Muslims aren’t currently considered culturally ‘cool.’ One pressing question emerges about whether beauty brands are reluctant or outright afraid to declare halal status.

“With Islamophobia at an all-time high, being a halal beauty brand might imply allyship towards the Muslim community, which may be viewed as risky business.”

Such concerns seem futile considering today’s diverse Muslim identity. Conversely, as xenophobia alongside racism target Muslim communities, solidarity could prove beneficial. Clean beauty trends coincide with heightened emphasis on inclusivity plus kindness. Shouldn’t halal certification enhance brand reputation?

Brands Refuse to Comment

“Having done some research, which includes contacting popular, mainstream beauty brands directly, I know that many of them do cater to halal requirements,” explains Mona from east London. “I think it’s a shame that brands don’t bother acquiring halal certification or stating so on their packaging, though. Not only would such transparency eliminate guesswork when shopping for halal beauty products, it would make me feel more represented.”

When pressed about their lack of halal certification, multiple brands refused comment. One explicitly stated it chooses to avoid being ‘political.’

Pioneering Brands Embrace Identity

Some brands embrace halal identity, though they haven’t achieved mainstream status. Ammaarah shares her experience discovering 786 Cosmetics, which produces halal nail polish that solved her dilemma of wanting painted nails while maintaining breathable formulas for wu’du (the Islamic cleanse before prayer).

Nailberry (featuring L’Oxygéné Nail Lacquer), Inika, Farsali (Instagram-famous for influencer-adored serums) represent notable halal beauty options.

Rose Brown, founder of PHB Ethical Beauty, pursued halal certification to eliminate animal derivatives alongside animal testing from her formulations. Choosing the halal beauty path benefited everyone, “whatever your beliefs, age or skin type. That’s whether you want vegan, non-toxic or halal.” Rose explained. 

For Shade M, a proudly halal brand, certifications champion women of color. “We chose to focus on the Muslim woman who represents over one billion people across the world. Yet she is rarely seen in the mainstream beauty space,” said Nubani. She continued by noting how the global halal beauty industry grows significantly faster than the beauty industry as a whole. “Seeing the response from consumers, retailers alongside manufacturers further supports the drive for halal makeup—it isn’t just a trend, it’s here to stay.”

Social Media’s Blind Spot

Despite makeup, skincare, hair trends dominating digital platforms, halal beauty remains virtually invisible. “Halal beauty isn’t something I come across often,” says Brooke DeVard, host of the award-nominated Naked Beauty podcast. Halal practices represent deep-rooted cultural traditions yet conversations frequently present them as novelties rather than established customs.

Nubani emphasizes why promoting halal beauty matters as an extension of beliefs plus principles countless Muslim women cherish. “Inclusivity isn’t just about shades, it’s about maintaining the ethos for all women while making that need accessible. Outside of creating a brand that tells these stories, it allows women who are undervalued to dream without losing their core values. Halal is for everyone—if you care about clean beauty, you should be asking if it’s halal-certified, too.”

Visibility Combats Vilification

Greater transparency in branding could normalize halal while combating broader vilification of global Muslim communities. For mainstream beauty brands, advertising halal status or pursuing certification may not register as priority—perhaps seeming irrelevant. But to Muslim women, such recognition signifies inclusion alongside solidarity, revealing how genuinely brands value their Muslim consumers.

Original Article:

Begum, T. (2025, October 7). Why are beauty brands afraid to say they’re halal?. Refinery29. Retrieved from https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/halal-beauty-brands