Hakuhodo and Chikuhodo both say that they’ll use hairs from animals that were slaughtered for other purposes, but then, what other purpose can a dead squirrel, weasel or marten have?! Plus, both manufacturers get their animal hides from China, and after living in China for two years and observing the daily treatment of animals here, I don’t want anything to do with that. I researched quite a lot to find cruelty-free natural hair brushes, and the end of the story is, none are. If I were invited to speculate, it’s a move designed to lower the cost, while at the same time sucking up to consumers who were enraged when MAC lost its ‘cruelty-free’ stamp after starting to sell in China. What is easy to find out, though, is the price – which remains the same.

I couldn’t find anything about the why, an in-depth look at the new materials used, or the place where they’re manufactured. MAC has been tight-lipped about the whole process. Have a look at my MAC synthetic brush 217S review! MAC’s new synthetic version of their beloved 217 blending brush – the 217S. When I checked, I recognised that most locations have most new brushes already. You’ll see the new brushes at all locations pretty soon.

All new brushes have a S after their serial number on the handle. The shape of the brushes we know stay the same, only the bristles change. MAC recently changed the bristles of all their brushes from natural, animal-sourced hair to synthetic fibres.

Paintbrush for mac reviews