Safety certificate for beauty products?

[CathBee]

Does anyone know the whole process required in order to legally sell beauty products.

I have recently redendered my wax and made some lipsalves and handcream but can anyone tell me more about what I need to do to sell it. I have read that I need to send the product away for testing to obtain a safety certificate.

If this is right where is the best place to send it and what is the cost?

I am also wondering if it is worthwhile taking out a public liability insurance policy?

 

[greatbritishhoney]

I am also wondering if it is worthwhile taking out a public liability insurance policy?

Yes, definitely. It would be crazy to operate any business without it.

 

[peterbees]

Cath,
WBKA membership includes Product Liability up to £5m.

 

[CathBee]

Hi Peter,

Yes forgot about the BBKA insurance - good thinking!

 

[greatbritishhoney]

Cath,
WBKA membership includes Product Liability up to £5m.

Might be worth double checking that it covers you for cosmetics etc. I.e - they may cover "bee related" products but not the other stuff you have to add to it.

 

[DulwichGnome]

These people seem to offer a service,
http://www.soapschool.com/#/safety-assessments/4533432099
and some useful info.

Mike.

 

[CathBee]

Thanks Mike - yes this is what I had been reading - very useful.

It's just a tad more complicated than selling honey but ultimately worth it I think

 

[drstitson]

the young oriental girl on the Apprentice this year seemed to suggest that little was required re testing etc etc. to the surprise of the corporate guy grilling her.
check out the interview episode.

 

[MandF]

the young oriental girl on the Apprentice this year seemed to suggest that little was required re testing etc etc. to the surprise of the corporate guy grilling her.
check out the interview episode.

..which went to prove how "illegal" traders can get away with it, and how crap she was.

Just like any of us could get away with illegal labelling and yet sell our honey with apparent impunity for years and years.

 

[Adam]

Hi Peter,

Yes forgot about the BBKA insurance - good thinking!

I'm fairly sure I was told the BBKA insurance only covers honey and wax. Not cosmetics as they often have other ingredients added.

Adam

 

[Marvin]

You need to do this properly.

Start with this: "Cosmetics Directive 76/768/EEC". You can find it here:
http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/sectors/cosmetics/documents/directive/

This is not optional - it's a 'directive' that has been passed into national law.

If you don't know your obligations then you may invalidate your third party liability insurance through non compliance with the law. This becomes a crime. If you do know your obligations then you will want to broadcast the fact.

 

[Marvin]

On the subject of safety, I don't know enough about the Cosmetics Directive to advise you. The Directive (In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Products) that I work to requires us to make available a detailed description of any harmful substance that is part of one of our products. We prepare a Material Safety Data Sheet based on an analysis by a laboratory. These are expensive (£250 upwards). The EU's REACH regulations cover harmful substances. You can find the UK's interpretation here: http://www.hse.gov.uk/reach/about.htm

If this stuff is intended for contact with human skin, you can't afford to mess about.

 

[MandF]

Ok, as far as I am aware there are 2 legal issues that need to be complied with;

1. You need to have your cosmetic "recipe" certified - there are people who do this, and they can certify ranges of recipes if there is no material difference, for example, you can get a basic lip balm recipe certified which will allow you to create different flavours.

2. You need to label the product as per that product's requirements.

If you have both the above you do not need to worry about anything else - presumably the product recipe certificate will contain any harmful substance declarations. You need to have these certificates with you in case someone asks to see them.