Helping you undersand soap and cosmetic regulations — in plain English.
Get updates and news from Marie Gale!
Hi, I’m Marie Gale.
For over 15 years I’ve been researching and following the world of laws, regulations, standards and guidelines for the handcrafted soap and cosmetic industry. What started as a personal quest to understand soap and cosmetic labeling for my own products has grown into a deep understanding of the myriad of requirements that handcrafted soap and cosmetics makers are subject to.
My personal passion to assist others to understand and follow the labeling and other requirements that grew out of all that research. If I had my way, no handcrafter would ever experience the stress and heartache of unwittingly running afoul of the the laws and regulations.
There is peace of mind in knowing that your are compliant with the applicable regulations. I’m here to help you achieve that stress-free relationship with your products and your business.
Whether you know it or not, you’ve been an invaluable resource for me throughout our years in business as I’ve relied on your many books whenever I have questions. I’ve recently purchased “Navigating the Rules & Regulations” and am going through it with tabs & a highlighter and am learning more than I ever expected. — Julia
Latest blog articles
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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.
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Christmas and Family
I’ve been doing quite a bit of genealogy work recently, gathering up family documents and entering them into my new Family Tree Maker software. Genealogy and documenting my family tree is something I’ve been working on for many years and now I finally feel like I’m getting a handle on it. In doing some research […]
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“Harsh” Lye Soap
I am reading a series of books by S. M. Stirling about what happens when civilization as we know it loses electricity, internal combustion, and gunpowder, as the result of an event the author calls “The Change.” In the years after The Change, the inhabitants of the Willamette Valley in Oregon have learned to cope, […]
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Clean Hands Week, Sept 20 – 26, 2009
International Clean Hands Week is September 20 – 26, 2009. This is part of a bigger campaign by the Clean Hands Coalition to help people, especially children, understand the importance of handwashing to stay healthy. As Martha would say, “This is a good thing.”
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Soap for Teeth
I was looking through my book of Hall’s Journal of Health (1859), and found an interesting article in the August issue of that year. It piqued my interest, so I did a little research. Here’s the article: Best Tooth Wash On one occasion, a correspondent for a water-cure journal inquired if a statement of ours […]
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Traveling by United – Again
Next weekend (the 17th), I fly to Dallas to be the keynote speaker at the Texas Soapmakers Convention. I’ll be speaking about the growth and development of the handcrafted soapmaking industry and soap and cosmetic labeling requirements. I’m excited about going and looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones. What I’m NOT excited about, […]
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I’ve Been Roasted!
I just got back from the Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild conference in Palm Springs, CA. It was an awesome 3-day experience! Being the current President of the Soap Guild, I had responsibilities while there and was involved in the preparations (although Leigh O’Donnell, the Conference Chairman, was truly the mastermind behind it all). I loved having the opportunity to […]
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2009 HSMG Conference
I’m off to the Handcrafted Soap Makers Guild 2009 Conference in Palm Springs bright and early tomorrow morning! Very excited about it – this will probably be our best conference yet.
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Colored and Swirled Soap
Making cold process soap is a combination of art and science. Making swirled soap is particularly tricky. It’s quite a skill to get the colors to swirl in together and still keep them distinct. Every swirled bar is different–not only different from soapmaker to soapmaker, but different from batch to batch and every bar within […]
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Grandma’s Lye Soap (1952)
In 1952, soap made it into the hit song parade! Johnny Standly had a mega hit song called It’s In The Book. The first part of it is a parody of Little Bo Peep in the form of a Southern Revival sermon, the second part is a song called Grandma’s Lye Soap. Click here to […]
MORE RESOURCES
Label Review
$125 per label
If you want another set of (experienced) eyes on your label to make sure it meets all the requirements, a label review is a good choice. A Label review checks your label against the pertinent regulations. You get a checklist of showing if corrections are needed (or not), along with documentation to help you understand the requirements. Label reviews take about a week. Once your review is complete, you can send the revised label and I’ll take a look to make sure everything is in order.
I wanted my labels to be as close to compliant as I could get them. I took advantage of your label review service and can’t thank you enough for your expert advice. It was money well spent! — N.M.
Consulting
$100 – $125 per hour
Consulting is the tailor-made solution to address whatever your concerns are with your labeling, GMP, MoCRA compliance, safety substantiation, and the like. Consulting can be as simple as just answering the questions you have by email, phone or online meeting, or it can cover reviewing all your labels, ingredient declarations, website copy, safety substantiation documentation, and good manufacturing practices. It’s your call – I’m here to help with what you need.
I speak on behalf of the entire team that we are all very appreciative of your work in helping us grow our brand. It is a big step for us, and you have been instrumental in making that a reality. Thank you for your help. — D.C..
Books
