Do you love making your own homemade cosmetics, and have you just made a product your friends and family adore? They love it so much it probably makes you want to go further and sell your cosmetic.
Be careful: you cannot market cosmetics without validating your formula beforehand. And launching your own cosmetics brand is not always simple when you are on your own. Between the laboratory trials, the sourcing of raw materials and writing the DIP, it can be hard to know which steps to complete. Here are the 8 steps to turn your homemade product into a regulated cosmetic.
Who can sell cosmetics?
It is strictly forbidden to market cosmetic products made at home whose formula has not been validated. However, no diploma is required to sell your cosmetic products. You need to have your formula validated by a competent person, following the steps to launch production of the finished product and its sale.
It is the validation of the formula, which must comply with European regulations and Good Manufacturing Practices (international standard ISO 22716), that guarantees the product’s safety. The cosmetic product must not:
- contain toxic substances;
- deteriorate over time;
- be contaminated during the various handling steps.
So all cosmetic products put on sale must meet these regulations, even artisanal soaps.
8 steps to put your cosmetics on the market
Once your product is made in your kitchen, if you want to share your know-how with as many people as possible, here are the 8 steps to develop a regulated cosmetic with support. As with a tailor-made formulation project, all development steps must be respected before moving to production. This is why we first carry out a feasibility study to check whether the formula you provide can be developed and then sold.
1. Analysing the formula
The first step is to check your formula. Even if you used organic and natural ingredients, that does not guarantee your formula is “safe” for the consumer. It must comply with the European regulations in force and, above all, remain stable over time.
The tools used to make products at home are not the same as those a laboratory has, so do not worry if your formula has to be modified at this first step, it is normal. We advise you on how to adapt your product’s formula.
2. Sourcing ingredients and packaging
After the theoretical study of your formula, it is important to move on to sourcing ingredients and packaging. As an individual, you probably source from online cosmetic ingredient distributors aimed at consumers. To create your homemade cosmetics, you will need industrial raw-material suppliers that let you design a stable, non-toxic and durable formula.
“This is when we co-create a product that is as natural as possible. You can choose local, natural and organic suppliers. This also applies to packaging.”
3. The laboratory pilot
This is when slightly more concrete things happen. At this third step, the cosmetics laboratory makes samples so the mixture can later be tested.
4. The stability and compatibility test
Even before the toxicological analysis of your product, we must launch the stability tests of the mixture. It must not deteriorate: change of colour, texture, smell, variation in pH, etc. The compatibility test in the selected packaging checks that there is no interaction between the packaging and your cosmetic product: deformation, exchange between the mixture and the packaging, etc.
5. The other mandatory tests
Before being sold, your product will undergo many tests, and that is a good thing: they are a guarantee of trust and safety for your customers. Some checks we can carry out, depending on the product type, application area, target population and desired claims:
- skin and eye irritation test;
- efficacy test;
- usage test.
By working with a cosmetics laboratory, you are certain your product passes all the mandatory regulatory tests. It is also at this step that the drafting of the labels begins, containing the essential information on the product’s composition.
6. Writing the DIP
You have almost done the hardest part. Once your cosmetic product is compliant, it is time to compile your Product Information File (DIP) under European Regulation 1223/2009. It is what lets you legally put your creations on the market. The stakes are high, as the health authorities can inspect cosmetics at any time and demand their immediate withdrawal if they find a significant non-conformity.
7. The declaration on the European portal
Since 2013, it has been mandatory to declare cosmetic formulas on the European portal, the CPNP, and no longer with three French poison control centres. This step involves declaring certain mandatory information, such as your product’s formula.
8. Producing the finished cosmetic product
Once these steps are completed, all that remains is to place the order for your product to carry out production. This is when your cosmetics come to life, on a large scale. With Costomise, all the laboratory steps of mixing and packaging are supervised to avoid contamination.
The importance of the laboratory in developing your homemade cosmetic formula
When you want to market your creations, calling on a laboratory to finalise your cosmetic project can be impressive. Yet it is the guarantee of marketing products completely legally.
Working hand in hand with a cosmetics laboratory not only gives you the certification that your products will be compliant, but also a different perspective on your approach. We are full of proposals, both for ingredients and packaging, to help you make eco-responsible, durable and healthy cosmetics.
