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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Certificate of Free Sale
A Certificate of Free Sale is a document that provides proof that a product is being freely and legally sold without restriction. It is sometimes also called a “Certificate for Export” or “Certificate to Foreign Governments.” When Is a Certificate of Free Sale Needed? A Certificate of Free Sale is needed if you are exporting […]
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Why is Regulatory Compliance Important?
When looking at the minutiae of labeling a soap or cosmetic product, it’s easy to forget the big picture. Why are all these regulations in place? Why is it important to comply with them? Why Are There Regulations At All? In the USA, regulations are the rules that are put in place to implement the […]
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Blended Color Additives
Color additives in cosmetics continue to be a difficult topic. Blended cosmetics are especially problematic. Keeping your products legal requires diligence and an understanding of color additives and the regulations.
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Are Your Product Claims Fake News?
You may have heard that Google, Facebook and other social media sites are trying to figure ways to weed out fake news before it makes its way into the wild. That they are using a combination of artificial intelligence, computer algorithms, and live human reviews to decide what’s real and what’s fake. That they have […]
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An Almond Doesn’t Lactate
Last month, pointing out that “almonds don’t lactate,” FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb announced that the FDA will soon issue a new guidance on the use of the term “milk.” Currently cow’s milk is defined as: Directly from the regulations: “the lacteal secretion, practically free from colostrum, obtained by the complete milking of one or more […]
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Are Your Color Additives Legal?
Color additives are a major concern for the FDA. Using an unapproved color additive can cause your product to be adulterated (and illegal).
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If One, Then All?
“If you put one ingredient on your soap label, you have to list them all” is an idea is being bandied around a lot lately. But is it true? As with most questions about legal stuff and regulations, yes… and no. Cosmetics If the product is a cosmetic, then the answer is a resounding YES. […]
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Natural Colorants, More
Since my last post about natural colorants I’ve gotten some questions about using ingredients that change the color of the soap or cosmetic, where that really wasn’t the point of the ingredient. Lets review the definitions. I’m just including the important bits, and bolding the really important bits. Color Additive Any material that is capable […]
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Trade Secrets
You’ve developed the perfect product and you want to keep the formulation secret. Can you hide some of the ingredients? Well, yes and no. Key Word to Know Trade Secret Any formula, pattern, device, or compilation of information which is used in one’s business and which gives one an opportunity to obtain an advantage over […]
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Looking for Product Drug Claims
When we talk about “drug claims” we are actually talking about the statements that tell the consumer that a product is intended to be used to diagnose, mitigate, treat, or prevent disease or to change the structure or function of the body. How does the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determine the intended use of […]
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Anti-Aging, Rejuvenating, and Repairing Claims
The FDA’s 1988 Import Alert regarding Anti Aging Creams was withdrawn at the end of 2017. What does that mean?
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Color Additives for In-Bath Products
The FDA regulates color additives and their use. For cosmetics, the FDA has a list of color additives permitted for use in cosmetics and each color additive has specifications on how it may be used: In-Bath Products “In-bath products” include cosmetic products such as bath oil, bubble bath, bath fizzies, or bath bombs—many of which are […]