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 some similarities between them … and some very big differences.

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 cosmetics, and to not be overly regulated out of business.