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.

  • Looking for Product Drug Claims

    When we talk about “drug claims” we are actually talking about the statements that tell the consumer that 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 FDA determine the intended use of a product? Where do they look?…

    Read More …

  • Anti-Aging, Rejuvenating, and Repairing Claims

    In 1988, the FDA issued Import Alert 66-38 titled “Skin Care Products Labeled as Anti-Aging Creams” which clearly stated that exaggerated ‘anti aging’ claims could cause a product to be an unapproved new drug. Import Alert 66-38 was the basis for understanding restrictions on cosmetic claims like anti-aging, rejuvenating and repairing. That Import Alert was…

    Read More …

  • 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: “Eye Area” means the area around the eyes. Which is the area from the brow to eyelids, lashes, eyeball and area just…

    Read More …

  • 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.

    Read More …

  • “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…

    Read More …

  • 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…

    Read More …

  • FTC updates business address requirements

    The 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 concering the business…

    Read More …

  • Net Contents … Again

    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.

    Read More …

  • Another FDA Warning Letter

    The FDA just 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 cure, mitigation,…

    Read More …

  • 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.

    Read More …

  • 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 soap with MP soap embeds (or vice versa)?

    Read More …

  • Soap: the Chameleon

    Soap is a chameleon – it can be many things depending on what you claim it can do. It is the CLAIM that determines what the product is, and that, in turn, determines what REGULATIONS/LAWS apply. Soap can be a drug: if you make claims that it (or any of the ingredients in it) is intended…

    Read More …