EU Cosmetic Certification & Adding to your list? Help?

[Claire74]

Hi......

To anyone that has been certified to make/sell soap, could you answer this one question i have please?

If i use the same supplier, and have say 100 different oils, soap, recipes etc and i get certified, does this then mean i cannot add anymore oils, fragrances to my list? If i use the same supplier can i? Or has every single one got to be certified?

The reason i am asking is, im new to this, and dont want to get certified too quickly, if im not allowed to add to my stock.

The supplier i use are fully certified as are all their ingredients. (Justasoap)

Thanks! Claire xx

[Lomond Soap]

Claire I just sort of answered this in another post. Chose who you get to do your certs very wisely! Some will last you a year (maybe) others will last you a lifetime. PM me if you are in doubt

[Bath-Bomb.Com]

Hi......

To anyone that has been certified to make/sell soap, could you answer this one question i have please?

If i use the same supplier, and have say 100 different oils, soap, recipes etc and i get certified, does this then mean i cannot add anymore oils, fragrances to my list? If i use the same supplier can i? Or has every single one got to be certified?

The reason i am asking is, im new to this, and dont want to get certified too quickly, if im not allowed to add to my stock.

Hi Claire,

At the risk of confusing the issue any more and I do realise you've read all the information but I think you may be confusing a couple of different things here.

You talk about yourself getting certified - I wonder if you mean insurance? Because it is not the maker of the soap (or whatever) that is certified it is the product they produce. It doesn't matter which ingredients are in the product or where they came from (so it doesn't matter that you get all your supplies from Justasoap or if you get them from 100 different suppliers).

When you have a product certified you supply the chemist (or whoever) with a list of the ingredients (my chemist doesn't want to know where I purchase from) and a method of making the product (like a recipe). You usually have to send samples and then they are tested. The chemist then issues a Safety Assessment or Certificate of Analysis to say that this combination of ingredients and the method of manufacture would not, in his opinion cause any harm to human health.

For each product you wish to make - soap, bath bomb, body butter etc you will need a different assessment BUT you can usually add a list of ingredients to you assessment so that you can make various fragrances of (for instance) Body Butter. You don't usually have to make every combination of soap to get it certified - you just provide your chemist with a list of possible ingredients.

The certificates allow you to make and sell cosmetics - they are also a business asset in that (because they don't run out) they have a resale value - the fact that they have a resale value would indicte to me that it is the recipe/ingredients that are certified and not the person who makes them.


I really hope this helps as you seem to be panicking a bit.

Take Care

Jude

[Claire74]

Thanks Jude!

I guess i dont have a great way of choosing the right words in explaining myself, so i appreciate all the help you have given me so far =)

I have been in touch with Sarah Janes Cosmetics and toiletries consultant, as there are alot of people who recommend her. Her husband has replied to me and also made things a little clearer, it seems they have a large list of oils to choose from etc etc which will work in my favour.

I probably have said when i get certified, but i meant my product, sorry for confusing matters.....

So if i wanted to make/sell soap and make/sell bath bombs, these are classed as two seperate products, therefore would acquire two seperate certificates?

Thanks! Claire xx

[Bath-Bomb.Com]

Hi Claire,

Yes they are 2 different certificates. What I do is I provide my assessor with a recipe - for example a Melt and Pour soap - and a list of ingredients:

Here is what that would look like:

SLS Free Soaps

Contains:

Melt and Pour Soap Base
Fragrance
Colour
Petals

Method of manufacture:

Melt the soap base in the microwave. Add fragrance and colour and petals and pour into moulds.

List of possible additions:

Fragrances:

Apple
Cranberry
Rose
etc

etc

I've really summarised this - my actual lists and recipes are very detailed - also my assessor requires me to provide the % of ingredients of the soap base (but not the supplier). Most soap bases are the same so, as long as I check the certificates of the supplier or the basic % of ingredients and they are the same as my certficate then I can buy from any supplier.

My list of fragrances can be as many as 40 to 50 long - my assessor doesn't charge any more for this as long as the fragrances are high quality cosmetic fragrances - good suppliers will usually provide you with a statement of their quality.

I email the 'recipe' and send off the sample and the assessor will assess it and send me back the certificate. The certificate is basically a declaration that the chemist (the qualified person) has assessed the method of manufacture and the combination of ingredients to be safe for use as a cosmetic.

A word of caution, Claire, any company who offers to assess your products but only if you use their supplies is not someone I would use - they are, I feel, trying to get you to purchase your supplies from them - what if they went bust? You'd have to get all your certificates redone at enormous cost. Most companies only want to know the ingredients of the product (or that the soap base has it's own certificate) they do not need you to buy products from the same supplier.

My own view is that an experienced assessor will know whether the quantities you are using and in the combination you are using them are either safe or not safe. It's none of their business where you get your supplies.

I hope this helps

Please just ask if you need more information

Jude

[Bath-Bomb.Com]

Did you catch the name of the person you spoke to?

[Claire74]

Hi Claire,

Yes they are 2 different certificates. What I do is I provide my assessor with a recipe - for example a Melt and Pour soap - and a list of ingredients:

Here is what that would look like:

SLS Free Soaps

Contains:

Melt and Pour Soap Base
Fragrance
Colour
Petals

Method of manufacture:

Melt the soap base in the microwave. Add fragrance and colour and petals and pour into moulds.

List of possible additions:

Fragrances:

Apple
Cranberry
Rose
etc

etc

I've really summarised this - my actual lists and recipes are very detailed - also my assessor requires me to provide the % of ingredients of the soap base (but not the supplier). Most soap bases are the same so, as long as I check the certificates of the supplier or the basic % of ingredients and they are the same as my certficate then I can buy from any supplier.

My list of fragrances can be as many as 40 to 50 long - my assessor doesn't charge any more for this as long as the fragrances are high quality cosmetic fragrances - good suppliers will usually provide you with a statement of their quality.

I email the 'recipe' and send off the sample and the assessor will assess it and send me back the certificate. The certificate is basically a declaration that the chemist (the qualified person) has assessed the method of manufacture and the combination of ingredients to be safe for use as a cosmetic.

A word of caution, Claire, any company who offers to assess your products but only if you use their supplies is not someone I would use - they are, I feel, trying to get you to purchase your supplies from them - what if they went bust? You'd have to get all your certificates redone at enormous cost. Most companies only want to know the ingredients of the product (or that the soap base has it's own certificate) they do not need you to buy products from the same supplier.

My own view is that an experienced assessor will know whether the quantities you are using and in the combination you are using them are either safe or not safe. It's none of their business where you get your supplies.

I hope this helps

Please just ask if you need more information

Jude

Thanks for this!!!

Claire x

[totalelegancesoaps]

Hi Jude,
Is it possible for you to give me the contact details whom certified your soaps or can you just walk into boots lol and ask them many thanks louise roughly how much does this cost, many thanks louise xx

[ElaineJ]

Sarah Janes isn't actually an assessor but operates an advisory agency and route to a very good cosmetic chemist (also a toxicologist) who decided to stop taking on new home crafters (because he was so helpful he was being overwhelmed with questions). Because he has an extensive knowledge of the ingredients he does not require samples of soap for testing - but will give a max %age for certain ingredients particularly EOs.

I think assessment via Sarah is about £125 - £150, depending on whether you go on a course - website is here.

Soapmakers Store have their own chemist and offer an assessment package - I think that one has a base price and then so much per each added ingredient.

There are some soapy forums where all this sort of info is in various files accessed via the forum.