Teach Soap

Someone should come out with a book like that! The rules and regulations are SO long and confusing (at least in the us).

Here are some of the questions I am wondering. Any help with understanding these I appreciate (as I am attempting to read this thing online cover to cover, and I am frequently getting confused). I want to comply with all the labeling rules for each product, so I need to make sure I don't leave anything out to get in trouble for.

This is what I am currently reading through
http://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/CosmeticLa ... 4.htm#clgk


Any advice on what warnings I need to put on products?
So far I have
"Keep out of reach of children"- which according to this below is enough to say it's for adults only.
<<The caution stated below is required on the label of any foaming detergent bath product which is not clearly labeled as intended for use exclusively by adults. The following are two examples of label statements identifying a product as intended for use exclusively by adults: "Keep out of reach of children" and "For adult use only.">>



Then I have this one "The safety of this product has not been determined"
I found this here under the heading "Label Warnings"
http://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/CosmeticLa ... 126438.htm
Do all of you use this? Is this just if you don't send your products to a lab for testing? Does that mean if I send a sample to a lab for bacteria testing that it HAS been determined? Or is that a different safety it's referring to, and I should still put it on there? I am thinking better safe than sorry, but I am wondering if customers are put off by that warning??

Also, I am trying to figure out how to word a slipper warning for my bath bomb.

What other warnings do you guys use? Do you have generally the same warnings on all your different products (with the exception of things that are obviously product specific)? I was wondering if you put something like "not intended for consumption" or "if accidentally swallowed...." do we have to put stuff like that?



Did you guys have this much of a headache when trying to figure out what all to put on the label or am I making this too hard?

I am curious also, but I haven't seen warnings like these on soaps or handmade lotions, etc. For myself, I do put a small warning on the label for my Pumpking spice soap, because it can sting sensitive areas of the body..but that's the only warning I use. I also just looked at a commercial lotion I have and it doesn't have any warnings on it. Now, the sugar scrub that I am using does have a warning "Caution: tub may become slippery with use" and I would probably put something similar if I were to make something like that. But then again, can't just about anyone slip in the tub with or without slippery products?

_________________
"Maintaining Balance Between People and Nature"

I decided to check a bar of soap from a mass manufacturer. The only warning they had was
"use _(name of soap)__ as you would oridinary soap. For external use only." Then I checked the insert I recieved with some gem - soap rocks I purchased from ts pink in NY ( bought from QVC) and there are no warnings on this one at all.
I will watch for the answers of others as well.

_________________
Susie
Sometimes A Mistake is so much fun, You just have to do it again!

Yeh...I was looking at a bottle of storebrand liquid soap i have. The only warning says "do not get in eyes. If you get soap in eyes contact poison control" ....after reading all those rules and regulations I would think at least the commercial stuff would be smarter about covering their bases...but I guess they don't have to say safety hasn't been determined or not for kids-because it is.

Good morning fellow soapers,
I realize that this post is a few months old but it did not look like there was a conclusive answer established. I am currently in school for my skin care license and heavily focused on ingredients, we are going over labeling so i wanted to throw my hat into the ring in hopes of helping out.

I have a couple of questions - are you speaking only of labeling a soap or soap like product? If so it does not fall into the category of the stringent FDA regulations because it is not a product that penetrates the skins layers nor does it make any claims. For example, if you make a soap that claims to eliminate acne you would have to have the data to prove it and the FDA (if they find out) would then regulate this product.

A general rule of thumb when labeling list your ingredients from most to least and for things like fragrances, you can simply say "fragrance" I do make the distinction between fragrance and essential oils as some people prefer one over the other but that's my preference. If your product is just a soap - don't kill yourself with the FDA's rules and regs, it is good to have the knowledge but not necessary to follow all the rules as they do not apply. the below excerpt is from the FDA website, i will list the full link below, it may be a helpful reference for you.

And what if it's "soap"?
Soap is a category that needs special explanation. That's because the regulatory definition of "soap" is different from the way in which people commonly use the word. Products that meet the definition of "soap" are exempt from the provisions of the FD&C Act because -- even though Section 201(i)(1) of the act includes "articles...for cleansing" in the definition of a cosmetic -- Section 201(i)(2) excludes soap from the definition of a cosmetic.

How FDA defines "soap"
Not every product marketed as soap meets FDA's definition of the term. FDA interprets the term "soap" to apply only when --
The bulk of the nonvolatile matter in the product consists of an alkali salt of fatty acids and the product's detergent properties are due to the alkali-fatty acid compounds, and
The product is labeled, sold, and represented solely as soap [21 CFR 701.20].


http://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/GuidanceCo ... 074201.htm

i hope this helped a little

~Erin