Helping you undersand soap and cosmetic regulations — in plain English.
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Category: Soap & Cosmetic Labeling
Blog posts that deal with soap and cosmetic labeling; addition information, questions asked and answered and updates as new information becomes known.
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Rubbing Alcohol
The term “rubbing alcohol” originally referred to alcohols that were applied to the body rather than drinking them as a beverage. Especially during Prohibition, when consumable alcohol was illegal, the distinction was very important.1 The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) and the United States Pharmocapeia (USP) define two different formulas for rubbing […]
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Talc
As an ingredient in cosmetics, talc has been under scrutiny for some years now. I’ve recently done a survey of the current information about talc, and here’s what I found out. Talc was originally used as “talcum powder”—the original body or baby powder. Now it has many uses in cosmetics and other personal care products; […]
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Made in the USA
If you want to make the claim that a product is “Made in the USA” you must comply with the Federal Trade Commission’s “Made in the USA” policy.
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The Importance of Good Manufacturing Practices
Sometimes it’s easy to think that keeping in Good Manufacturing Practices when making cosmetics is just a good idea—a “suggestion” rather than a “rule.” I suppose that idea is reinforced by the fact that cosmetic GMP isn’t actually in the regulations, it’s a “guidance.” Events of the past several months have shown that GMP failures […]
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What is INCI?
Key Words to Know Nomenclature The words and terminology specific to a particular subject or area of study. Botanical Related to plants: a part of a plant. INCI International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients. The International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients is a list of the standardized and internationally accepted names (called “INCI Names”) that should be […]
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FDA Policy Change on Hand Sanitizers
On October 12th, 2021, the FDA announced they are withdrawing their temporary policies allowing manufacturers who were not drug manufacturers to produce certain alcohol-based hand sanitizers. Background In the US (and elsewhere) hand sanitizers are classified as drugs—usually over-the-counter drugs. They must be manufactured by approved drug manufacturers in facilities that are registered, inspected, and […]
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Ingredient Declarations for Soap (US Only)
Is an ingredient declaration required on your soaps? Let’s take a look!
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Finally My Labeling eClass is Available!
For all the people who have asked me to put together an actual eClass, I am so excited announce that my eClass is now (finally!) available to one and all at The Nova Studio! It’s been months in the making and I’m extremely proud of the finished product. Rather than do one long lecture-type video, […]
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Label Review – Trader Joe’s Foam Soap (Video)
Let’s check out the package and label of a bottle of Trader Joe’s Botanical Bounty Foaming Hand Soap!
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Herbal Entrepreneur Conference 2021
I am so honored to be included in this year’s Herbal Entrepreneur Conference being held virtually March 21 – March 27th! This is the 3rd such annual conference. My session, “What You Need To Know About Labelling Herbal Products” will be on March 23rd at 11AM (PST).
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What does ADULTERATED mean?
In the US, you can make cosmetics without getting prior approval of the product, the ingredients, or the formulation. What you can’t do is sell (or put out for sale) a product which is adulterated or misbranded. That’s illegal. Most states have also adopted a similar law, so it is illegal at the state level […]
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What is the PRINCIPAL DISPLAY PANEL?
In labeling, the size and placement of the principal display panel determines where certain information must be placed and what size the text must be. Key Words to Know Principal Of a thing: first, chief, most important. Display Panel A separate or distinct part of a surface on which information can be shown. Which brings […]