A UK-based laboratory is working to eradictate animal testing by developing alternative methods to test cosmetics that are not only cruelty-free but also more scientifically advanced than current animal-based tests.

The laboratory, XCellR8, uses scaffold of cells from human skin, which the company claims to be ideally suited to testing cosmetic products. The skin is donated by plastic surgery patients.

"For skin irritation testing the cells are isolated from human skin that has been donated by people who have had plastic surgery and they've said that they're quite happy for the tissue to be used for research purposes. So human skins cells are isolated from those skin samples and they're grown in the laboratory," explained XCellR8 founder Dr Carol Treasure.

Skin cells are the first cells to be in contact with cosmetic products and they can provide a model for any damage to other sites of the body. Many cosmetic products are also partially absorbed into the bloodstream so testing any harmful effects is vital. Treasure said their methods provide a test bed to accurately determine any health implications.

"In many cases the culture of human cells still requires the use of animal components such as blood-derived components or liver extract which mean that ultimately animals have still been sacrificed for that work. One of the unique things about XCellR8 is that we've eradicated all of those components and so we have a truly animal free testing laboratory," Treasure told Reuters.

Many cosmetics companies have sent their ingredients to XCellR8 for safety testing, including ethical cosmetic company Lush.

The laboratory was also one of the first companies to win the Lush Prize - an annual £250,000 (approximately €310,000) prize for significant contributions to removing animals from testing.

Director of Science at Cruelty Free International Dr Katy Taylor is hopeful the ongoing research could make animal testing in the cosmetic industry unnecessary.

The European Union banned animal testing in the cosmetic industry in 2013, but it is still legal in 80 per cent of the world, including the US. China is the only country where laws require cosmetic products to be tested on animals before they come to market, according to animal protection campaigner Cruelty Free International.

XCellR8 is currently working to convince governments around the world that their research delivers viable human-based approach to cosmetic testing. According to Treasure, their methods provide a more scientific approach to cosmetic testing than the current animal tests.

"Our goal now is to increase the applicability of these tests around the world and to work alongside governments and industry to help them to understand that these tests provide a scientific advancement; that they are actually better at predicting human safety compared with traditional animal tests," she said.

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