Selling Products - info pleeease...

[July Greene]

I am looking into Aromatherapy/Essential Oils courses as I would love to make my own products (I am currently a Holistic Therapist and do some organic facials etc... which I would like to use my own products with and also sell to clients). I just wondered how I would go about doing this and what do I need to do to comply with the law and authorities etc... And what cost implications there would be.

If I use base creams (such as from www.baseformula.co.uk ), they seem to be tested etc... so does this mean I can add my own oils to the bases and they are okay to sell? Or do I need to submit them to toxicology testing?

The Base Formula bases are labelled so are you allowed to re-label them?

Sorry for the 20 questions but I would really appreciate any help guys!

Thanks
x

 

[NemaMomma]

I think if you add or change anything you have to have another toxicology test, which is an additional expense, but the buck stops at the testers doorstep, if there is then a problem with the product, so it is a safety net. That is my understanding of the law.

Luv Binah
xx

 

[mbulskwg]

If you add anything you are altering the recipe and as such, the existing certification will not apply.

If you plan to make and sell products in the UK there is a LOT of legislation on labelling and certification process.

I've been making my own products for years and I still don't sell because of the cost and paperwork involved. Also anything with water in (such as creams) need to be challenge tested to ensure the preservative is effective, which the base creams would have been, but adding other ingredients may change the effectiveness. Challenge testing is VERY costly.

As you are using a base though, it may be a lot simpler than making your own lotions from scratch - you may not need to challenge test, but only your assessor can really advise you on that.

I would suggest that you join the yahoo group SLIPPERYSLOPE. It has a lot of information in the files about the legislation. UKSOAPING might also be a useful group for you to read through.

Also, I think the rules are different if you are an aromatherapist, selling a cream to individual clients and using a base cream (where you just add essential oils, specific to the client's needs) and are not creating a range to sell separately.

I hope you find some info that is of use - good luck with it all.

 

[vvlciit]

Hi,

Yes, I agree with Sal. There is alot of legislation and you will have to be very careful. As an Aromatherapist I am allowed to add essential oils to a cream for a client. However, I would only do this with full med and holistic assessment. It is a bit of a mindfield, I would love to do more "potion making" myself!
Good luck, keep us all posted!
Sally