Do you think this counts as being a vegan.....?!

Well if you follow the term vegan then no you are not really a vegan. However I would not worry about it because like the others say you are doing your best. If you wanted to call yourself a vegan I don't think any of us would mind because you are 15 and living at home- if you were even 17 with a job and living at home, or out of home on your own it would be viewed like- why not spend the extra $20 a month and get animal cruelty free products.

But I am so glad you are doing everything you can to not be a carcass eater :p Keep up the good work and when the options are there we can trust you will do the right thing.

vegan

It's up to you as to whether you classify yourself as vegan, and your heart is in the right place. Perhaps you could research the ingredients and testing of mainstream shampoos, toothpastes, etc. There are a few supermarket brands that are OK (here in Australia anyway) and you may be able to convince your parents to start buying these instead. Also, there are recipes online to make your own soaps and shampoos, and there are alternatives to store-bought toothpaste (such as bicarb soda). Keep up the good work!

No thats fine, I always thought being a vegan meant that you didnt eat eggs or drink milk or consume anything taken from animals, but you rgoing to an extreem there honeypie. You will be a miseable person if you dont use anything tested on or made with animals EVERYTHING is tested on animals, and unless you plan to live in the woods for the resto f your life, you going to have to get used to that.

yes, you can say you're vegan.. doesn really matter what u call yourself. it's where your heart is. because u are doing the best you can to save animals, i'd say that's vegan. and i dont know much about shampoo or toothpaste, chemically, so i dont know how badly they affect animals. if they arent so bad, i wouldnt really care about the testing. it's just hygiene.

Thats ok....just do your best. Don't worry about the label 'vegan'.....just do your best.

Also look up sun gazing, they say you can stop eating in 9 months after you start safe sun gazing. If you can stop eating, then you can stop using toothpaste also as you wont need it anymore. Good luck!

http://inneryoga.blogspot.com/2010/06/sa…

i dont call that being a true vegan but dont worry. its almost impossible to live in the us and be 100% vegan. try to use alternitives to the brands of shampoo and other products. there is a chat room for vegetarians and vegans on happycow.com. u can get great advice and support. its also a great place to make friends

Some vegans define themselves by their diets, while others choose to live a strict vegan lifestyle. I think it's awesome that you want to go vegan -- I eat some dairy and eggs as a vegetarian, but I too avoid animal products and by-products as much as I can. But hey, anything you can do to promote the ethical treatment of animals -- even if it's just a few things you choose to do differently -- is way awesome. The only non-natural hygiene product I use is toothpaste because I'm afraid I'll risk cavities if I use anything else. But I've found natural alternatives to everything else, and they work great. You can Google that sort of thing if you'd like. But if it's easier for you to use the hygiene products your parents buy, that's alright -- you can always choose alternatives when you're old enough to move out, and you can definitely still call yourself a vegan if you avoid animal-derived foods. :)