FDA Rules and Regulations

According to Kelly Ewing, author of Making Candles and Soaps for Dummies, if you are a soapmaker then the agency that regulates you will depend if your product is classified as a soap or as a cosemetic. If you are claiming special benefits of any kind, such as moisterizing or relaxing, then you fall into the cosmetic category and thus face stricter FDA regulations.

If you wares are considered cosmetic, then you have to face labeling guidelines and very strict production sanitation rules, which unfortunately most home businesses cannot meet. It is a good start if you wear gloves and hairnets and you do not smoke. But you also need to have someone else around to double check your measurements and your water tested.

There is also the requirement of labeling your product. Labeling is consider to be alot simpler aspect of the process because basically you just need your contact information and net weight of soap in ounces. But if you fall in the FDA domain, then you must list all ingredients, just like food labels do. Even if you are just labeling basic soap, if you list any of your ingredients, then you must label them in descending order. You can't just list the essential oils and special additives without listing all the other ingredients because liting only the special oils can give the impression that they are the primary ingredients when they are likely aren't.

Even if you color your product, keep in mind that all colorants pass regulations. Check with the FDA to find out if your colorant of choice passes its test. You can access the FDA website at www.fda.gov. For a very detailed and lengthy Cosmetic Labeling Manual check out http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/cos-labl.html.

Source: Making Candles and Soaps for Dummies by Kelly Ewing, Wiley Publishing, Hoboken, NJ. 2005. Page 232.