Cosmetic Packaging: Rules For Starting a Cosmetic Company

If you are starting your own small business cosmetic line - you have to make sure you are following simple rules. From ingredients regulations to handmade cosmetic rules, our cosmetics fact sheet will help you to start your own cosmetic company!

Labels

All cosmetics (even handmade delicious smelling soap or face lotion) must be labeled correctly. Any cosmetics you make must not be misbranded or adulterated. It means your cosmetic products must be safe for consumers and be properly labeled for them. Your packaging is very important and cannot mislead your customers.

Cosmetic Packaging: Rules For Starting a Cosmetic Company / Photo: Unsplash

If you plan on selling your cosmetic products to consumers through retail stores, online, or through door-to-door sales you also have an obligation to meet the ingredient labeling requirements.

The labelling requirements for cosmetic products are detailed under Article 19 of the UK and EU Cosmetics Regulations, depending on whether products are placed on the GB market or the EU/NI markets respectively.

What information needs to be printed on the label?

• name and address of the UK Responsible Person (for the GB market) or the EU Responsible Person (for the EU and NI markets);
• declaration of quantity of contents;
• Period after Opening or date of minimum durability where relevant;
• warning statements and precautionary information;
• batch code;
• product function;
• declaration of ingredients;
• country of origin for imported products.

Safe products

You should focus on creating products that are safe and labeled properly. The one caveat is to know the difference between drugs and cosmetics!

In the UK and EU, the manufacture and supply of all cosmetic products is governed by the UK cosmetics Regulation (Schedule 34 of the Product Safety and Metrology Statutory Instrument) and the EU Cosmetics Regulation (No. 1223/2009) and its amendments, respectively.

Products considered a drug if it:

Treats an illness (or claims to)
Prevents a Disease
Affects the way the body works

Home-made cosmetics

You can make cosmetics in your own home or salon. One thing you must keep in mind, however, is that you must keep your products from being tainted by the environment.

Examples of adulterated cosmetics include:

Microbial contamination (your products don’t have to be sterile but should have a low number of microbes).
Color additive violations.
Additional contaminates
See this guideline/checklist for more information about making cosmetics in your home.

Safe Packaging and Branding

To make your cosmetics brand strong and popular - custom design packaging is great solution for this! VR Packaging is ready to help you and assist to work on branded boxes for your cosmetics products, carrier bags and mailing bags to ship products safely to your customers. 

 
Cosmetic Packaging: Rules For Starting a Cosmetic Company / Photo: Unsplash