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ForSoapmakers.com Closing December 31
After much thought and internal debate, I have decided to close down ForSoapmakers.com as of December 31, 2011. It was a hard decision, but having made it, I must admit somewhat of a sense of relief. ForSoapmakers had gotten to the point that it had to grow to the next level (or not). I chose
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Safe Cosmetics Act of 2011
The Safe Cosmetics Act of 2011 was introduced in June. I’ve reviewed the bill and have been following all the discussions. Unfortunately, it seems to have somewhat polarized the handcrafted soap community, which is surprising since we all want essentially the same things: to be able to run our businesses, to make safe soaps and
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Good Manufacturing Practices – Part 3
In this 3rd installment, we’ll take a look at the records required to meet the standards required in the Good Manufacturing Practices Guidelines/Inspection Checklist. Like I say about labeling, “It isn’t COMPLICATED, but it is DETAILED.” If you have your raw materials correctly logged and labeled, and your recipe/formulation with the procedures written out (see
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Good Manufacturing Practices – Part 2
In this continuation of my series on Good Manufacturing Practices for small cosmetics manufacturers, we’ll look at the recommended practices for handling raw materials, production and laboratory controls. (See Good Manufacturing Practices – Part 1 for the first of the series.)
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Good Manufacturing Practices – Part 1
This is the first of a series of posts on the subject of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) for cosmetics, especially as applicable to making handcrafted cosmetics in small batches. The Regulations Cosmetics are sort of the bastard child when it comes to GMP regulations. Both drugs and food have GMP standards set out in the
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Drug Claims and Lip Balm
I just returned from the 2011 Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild Annual Conference in Miami. It was terrific! This year I went as a speaker and a vendor, and had time to enjoy some of the other speakers and presenters. I loved seeing Barbara Corcoran and had the privilege of having breakfast with her and several of
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L. Ron Hubbard 100th Birthday Event
Last week we went to the L. Ron Hubbard 100th birthday event hosted by the Church of Portland. It was attended by several hundred people—it was great to see old friends. Much of the event was dedicated to a retrospective look at the life of L. Ron Hubbard, especially the many endeavors and adventures in
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Labeling … of People
Name calling. In grade school it’s a tool of the bullies to make others feel bad. Even though you can SAY “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” truth is, words, be it name calling or labeling, CAN hurt. Maybe not physically, like sticks and stones, but personally, emotionally, and
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Labeling Workshop – Feb 5, 2011
It’s just been finalized that I will be doing a Labeling Workshop at The Nova Studio in Point Richmond, California on February 5, 2011. Actually, two sessions are planned (one for the morning and one for the afternoon), depending on how many people sign up. The 4-hour class will cover the following:
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Ground Burning the Oak Savannah
It’s not often that one gets the opportunity to set fire to 25 acres of grass, brush and slash, but that’s what we got to do yesterday. “Why?” you might ask. Well … An Oak Savannah is an area that typically has about 20 – 30 mature oaks per acre, with grass underneath. Untouched by humans, they
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Proctor & Gamble Out of Soap Operas
As the World Turns, Proctor and Gamble’s last soap opera is going off the air with it’s last episode (the 13,661st!) to air in September. Their other remaining soap opera, Guiding Light, was canceled in April, 2009. That ends their 76 years in the soap opera business.
Helping you understand soap and cosmetic regulations — in plain English.