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.

  • Trade Secrets

    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

    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

    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    The FDA’s 1988 Import Alert regarding Anti Aging Creams was withdrawn at the end of 2017.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

    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 […]

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  • Street Address – Your Choices

    Street Address – Your Choices

    Even though the requirements for the street address on the label are pretty clear cut, it still seems to be an issue for those working out of their homes.

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  • “Love” Isn’t an Ingredient

    “Love” Isn’t an Ingredient

    The FDA has finally stated, clearly and definitely, that “love” isn’t an ingredient—at least in granola. Recently the news and social media have been filled with articles about the FDA’s recent warning letter to a bakery in Concord, Massachusetts, in which they were cited for (amongst other things), including “love” which is “not a common […]

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  • Minimum Risk Pesticides

    Minimum Risk Pesticides

    The EPA website has been updated since the last time I looked at it. It still wasn’t too easy to find the Minimum Risk Pesticides page, but once I found it, I discovered it was much clearer and easier to understand than before the updates. Of course, the information and regulations haven’t changed, but it […]

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  • FTC updates business address requirements

    FTC updates business address requirements

    The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has issued the final rule for updating some aspects of their labeling regulations, including the requirements for the business name and address. Note that these revised regulations will apply to non-cosmetic items, including to soap that is exempt from the definition of a cosmetic (see Soap, the Chameleon). The updated regulation […]

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  • Understanding the Net Contents

    Understanding the Net Contents

    Close to HALF of the labels I see don’t include the net weight. The net weight of the product isn’t just a good idea.  It is a key piece of information that is required on every product.

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  • Another FDA Warning Letter

    Another FDA Warning Letter

    The FDA just (July 2017) published a warning letter to a cosmetic manufacturer in St. Louis. Once again, the FDA reviewed the website and cited drug claims: “…the claims on your website establish that the products are drugs under the … Food Drug and Cosmetic Act … because they are intended for use in the […]

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  • Net Contents Big Enough?

    Net Contents Big Enough?

    Most of the recent packaging I’ve seen DOES have the net contents on it. However, on almost all, it is way too small. Way. Too. Small.

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  • Hybrid Soap Ingredient List

    Hybrid Soap Ingredient List

    Some stunning hybrid soap can be made by combining two different types of soaps into one artistic bar. The problem is, how do you figure out the ingredient declaration when you have a CP (cold process) soap with MP (melt & pour) soap embeds, or vice versa?

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