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Castor Oil Toxicity?
I was recently asked about castor oil, and whether there was a need to buy “detoxified” castor oil for use in soap. I’ve used castor oil in my soap for a long time because it makes marvelous creamy lather, but I did check into the toxicity issue.
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Calculating the Net Weight of Soap (Part 1)
When you are labeling soap, one of the problems you run into is figuring out the net weight to put on the label. Since water will continue to evaporate out of the soap over time, the soap will gradually come to weigh less, even after the initial “cure time.” When the consumer is deciding whether […]
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8 GMP Documentation Tips
Good manufacturing practices rest solidly on documentation, documentation, and more documentation. You could be (and possibly are) doing everything right, and ensuring that your product is of the highest possible quality each and every time. But is it all documented? Without accurate and detailed documentation, your GMP will never be fully in place. While it […]
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6 Things to Consider When Printing Your Own Labels
Whether your labels look “professional” or “homemade” can affect how well your product sells. When you are printing your own labels, here are some basics that will help your labels achieve that polished, professional look. It doesn’t take much, just some attention to detail and making sure that all the pieces work together.
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Eight Requirements for Good Manufacturing Practices
There are eight main types of information and documentation that must be considered and addressed when implementing your good manufacturing practices. While each plays a part, they are inter-related; you can get an overview on good manufacturing practices in general by understanding these eight different areas.
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Measuring Text Sizes For Labels
One of the most common labeling errors is using type that is too small on your label. So how do you determine the right size of type? And what font size is that? The right size of type is determined by the size of the container (not the size of the label itself), and the […]
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What’s the Point of GMP?
You might wonder what’s the point of going to all the trouble of following good manufacturing practices. After all, your products are great, right? The whole reason for implementing good manufacturing practices is to ensure that your great product is great: every batch, every bar, every time. GMP is there to address and control every […]
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Five Most Common Labeling Errors
The errors are all simple to fix. It’s just a matter of putting the right information in the right place, and making sure that it’s the correct information.
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Cosmetic Legislative Update
Three bills have been introduced this session that affect cosmetics–especially small soap and cosmetic manufacturers. They are: HR 2359 – Safe Cosmetics Act of 2011 HR 4262 – Cosmetics Safety Enhancement Act of 2012 HR 4395 – Cosmetic Safety Amendments Act of 2012 All are trying to address “cosmetic safety” in different ways. There are […]
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Making a Difference with Soap
Soap: At one end of the spectrum it’s a luxury item, at the other end soap saves lives. Did you know that more than 5 million lives are lost each year (the majority of whom are children) to diseases such as acute respiratory infection and diarrheal disease caused by improper hygiene and lack of soap? […]
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Amazing and Unique Soaps
We’ve all seen bar soap (which can be stunningly beautiful with swirls, embeds, and colors), and liquid soap, and even soap that looks like food. But how about soap that looks completely like something else? Check out these amazing soaps!
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Banning Anti-Bacterial Soap?
Students at the University of Texas voted last week to ban anti-bacterial soap and other products containing triclosan from the university entirely. The bill was authored by five UT students and unanimously approved by the students. Now, of course, it will be up to the university administration (and their purchasing department) to decide if they […]
Helping you undersand soap and cosmetic regulations — in plain English.
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