Selling handmade soap: UK cosmetics rules and the US soap vs cosmetic line
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Many soap makers reach the point where friends start asking to buy bars, and selling at a market or online seems like the natural next step. Before you do, it is worth knowing that in many countries soap sold to the public is regulated, sometimes as a cosmetic. The rules differ from place to place, and this guide is a starting point, not legal advice. Check with the relevant authority where you live before you sell.
United Kingdom: soap is generally treated as a cosmetic
In Great Britain, soap intended for washing skin falls under cosmetics law: the retained version of the EU Cosmetics Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, together with the Cosmetic Products Enforcement Regulations 2013. The regulator is the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), and local Trading Standards enforce the rules. There is no general exemption because you are small or the product is handmade.
The main requirements, in outline:
- A Responsible Person: every cosmetic placed on the GB market must have a UK-based Responsible Person, who is legally accountable for its compliance. If you make the soap yourself in the UK, that is normally you.
- A safety assessment: before sale, each product must have a Cosmetic Product Safety Report, which includes a safety assessment carried out by a suitably qualified assessor (someone with a qualification in pharmacy, toxicology, medicine or a similar discipline). You cannot sign this off yourself unless you hold such a qualification. Changing a recipe or a fragrance normally means the assessment needs revisiting.
- A Product Information File: kept available for Trading Standards, containing the safety report, a description of the product, the method of manufacture and evidence for any claims.
- Notification: each product must be notified before sale through the government's Submit Cosmetic Product Notifications (SCPN) service.
- Good manufacturing practice: you are expected to make the product in clean, controlled conditions and keep batch records.
- Labelling: labels need, among other things, the Responsible Person's name and address, the ingredient list using INCI names, the weight, a batch number, any required warnings and, where it applies, a durability indication. Certain fragrance allergens must be declared above set levels.
Northern Ireland follows the EU route and uses the EU's notification portal rather than SCPN. Read the current guidance on gov.uk, or contact your local Trading Standards, which often helps small businesses.
United States: is it soap or a cosmetic?
In the US, which agency regulates your bar depends on what it is and what you say about it.
- True soap, as described in the FDA's regulation (21 CFR 701.20), gets its cleaning power from the alkali salts of fatty acids (traditional soap made from oils and lye) and is labelled, sold and represented only as soap. True soap is regulated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), not the FDA.
- A cosmetic: if you claim the bar moisturises, deodorises or makes the user smell nice, or if its cleaning comes mainly from synthetic detergents, it is likely to be a cosmetic regulated by the FDA. The CPSC also notes that some ingredients commonly recognised as cosmetic can push a product into FDA territory even without a claim. Cosmetics have their own labelling rules, including an ingredient declaration, and the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (MoCRA) added further obligations, with some exemptions for very small businesses.
- A drug: claims to treat or prevent conditions, such as acne or eczema, or to kill germs, can make the product a drug, with much stricter rules.
Many melt and pour bases contain synthetic detergents, so a melt and pour bar may not count as true soap. If you are unsure, the CPSC recommends asking the FDA.
Wherever you are
- Avoid medical or therapeutic claims on labels, social media and market signs.
- Keep batch records: what went into each batch, when, and where it went.
- Look into product liability insurance; many markets require it.
- Check rules for selling online across borders, as each destination may apply its own.
Have you started selling soap, and what did you learn along the way? Share your experience and questions in the comments.