Blog For Cosmetic Professionals

Starting Out In The Cosmetic Industry - Coping With Regulations

Posted by Colin Sanders on

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What Is The Best Way To Do An Ingredient List For Tablet Soap?

Posted by Colin Sanders on

Here's an issue that has come up a few times lately. How do list the ingredients on tablet soap?The reason for ingredient lists on cosmetics is to enable people who have allergies to particular chemicals to identify products that might give them a problem. This is a worthy objective, and to make sure that it is indeed effective there are rules that require companies to follow a standard format in the way they list those ingredients. This makes perfect sense, but there is a slight bug in the system. If you are adding an ingredient which reacts with another ingredient...

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New IFRA Guidelines Coming Into Force

Posted by Colin Sanders on

The 48th edition of the IFRA guidelines are now up on their website, and will be applicable to any new projects briefed after the 10th of September. I am not sure how strictly IFRA intend to police this particular date.  But in these days of Edward Snowden and Ashley Maddison I suppose it is quite possible they would be able to read your emails if they put their mind to it.  But seriously, you should at least be bearing them in mind from now on and preferably aiming to work to them.  I haven't yet plunged in, but will be...

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Can You Support Claims For Effects Against Stretch Marks?

Posted by Colin Sanders on

Scars in general and stretch marks in particular are problems that don't have easy solutions.  People who suffer from these conditions are open to products that can promise to help them, but sadly there isn't a great deal that can be done about them.  So a television advert highlighting a skin oil that women say has improved their appearance is quite likely to have an impact. When Palmers ran an advert for their skin oil it had one impact that they probably would have preferred not to have.  Somebody complained to the ASA that the claim couldn't be substantiated.  I...

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Ambergris

Posted by Colin Sanders on

A sperm whale full of ambergris has been washed up on the beach in Holland.  The quantity is 83Kg, and will keep perfumers who use it as a fixative going for years. The origin of ambergris was unknown for many years.  It was found from time to time on beaches. Its scarcity made it enormously valuable.   Once industrial scale whaling got underway its origin in the digestive system of whales became obvious. It also led to the pursuit of sperm whales, with disastrous consequences for their numbers.  To combat this trade in ambergris is banned in many countries. The...

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