Louisiana Love for Cottage Cosmetic Makers

Here’s some good news for a change! If you make cosmetics from home in Louisiana, the state just lifted a real burden off your shoulders. And it happened because makers spoke up.

On May 29, 2026, the governor signed Act 573 into law, effective immediately. It creates a brand-new category called a cottage cosmetic facility, and it removes a stack of requirements that never made much sense for a home-based soap and cosmetics small business. If you’re in Louisiana, you don’t have to fly under the radar anymore.

What It Used to Be

Louisiana has long been one of the stricter states for cosmetic manufacturers. To make cosmetics for sale, you needed a permit from the Office of Public Health. That permit cost $175 a year and came with a plans review, a parish utility letter about your water and sewer, and the possibility of an inspection. On top of that, every single product had to be registered with the state before you could sell it, at $27 per product (up to $270 a year).

For a large factory, maybe all of that makes sense. For someone with a small home-based business, it was a lot. Too much.

What Changed

The new law creates an exemption for a cottage cosmetic facility, defined simply as a business that makes, packs, or holds cosmetics in a private residence in Louisiana, with total annual wholesale sales of $100,000 or less (that’s important).

If you qualify, the change is real:

No permit. No permit fees. No routine or periodic inspections. No product registration.

That is a big difference for a small maker.

What Still Applies

A few things didn’t go away, and they’re worth knowing.

You still collect and remit local sales tax. You still have to follow federal law, including MoCRA. And the exemption doesn’t cover higher-risk products — the same as MoCRA, the exemption doesn’t apply to a business that makes products that regularly come in contact with the mucous membrane of the eye, anything injected or meant for internal use, or anything intended to change appearance for more than 24 hours (think permanent makeup or artificial nails). It also doesn’t apply if you make drug claims.

How It Happened

Here’s the part I love. This change didn’t come from a lobbyist or a big trade-association budget. It came from a soapmaker.

Andrea Anderson of No-Nothing Ranch, Soapmaker, goat farmer, and member of the Handcrafted Soap and Cosmetic Guild, fell prey to Louisiana’s requirements while making goat-milk soaps and lotions and decided to do something about it. She contacted her representative, Louisiana State Rep. Kimberly Landry Coates. Andrea explained how the existing regulations were difficult (more like impossible) to follow and that MoCRA really addressed what the Louisiana law was trying to handle. They worked together to draft a bill for the Louisiana state legislature. Andrea testified in support of it, and Rep. Coates carried it through. (Okay, yes, I also helped!)

That’s how a law gets changed.

Final Thoughts

It’s easy to look at a burdensome regulation and assume it’s just the way things are. This is proof that it isn’t unchangeable. Rules get written by people, and people can be persuaded to rewrite them, especially when someone takes the time to show up and explain how a regulation actually affects a small business.

There are other states that have requirements (sometimes quite burdensome … Florida, I’m looking at you). Take heart. One person paid attention, took the time to connect with her legislator, and ultimately changed the law for everyone in her state. It can be done.

If you’re in one of those states and want to take action, let me know! I’m in Florida now, and would be happy to work with a group in the state to get the rules here changed.