Purchase Navigating the Rules & Regs: A Practical Guide for Soap & Cosmetic Handcrafters

The journey from hobby of making handcrafted soap and cosmetics to the realities of running a small business that is making, marketing, and selling products can be daunting. As I built my own soap and cosmetic business, I was constantly running up against some new law, regulation, standard, or guide that applied to what I was doing. Each time I felt blindsided - partly by the fact that I felt I should have known, and partly by the amount of work forced upon me by the new information.

Case in point: I assumed that since I was making my products in the USA, I could just put "Made in the USA" on my label. Not so much. In the course of looking up something or other, I stumbled on the "Made in the USA" RULE. (Surprise! there's a rule for that.) It's more than just that it's made in the USA, it's also where the ingredients come from. Who knew! I was then faced with a) feeling a bit dumb because I didn't know that and probably should have checked, and b) the work required to figure out where my ingredients really come from (obviously my oil supplier in Portland, Oregon wasn't growing coconut oil there). It turned out that without some reformulation, I really couldn't claim my soaps met the full "Made in the USA" claim. I ended up adjusting it to say that they were "Made in the USA with US and imported oils."

And then there was the point when I discovered that my best-selling soap was scented with a List 1 Controlled Substance and apparently the DEA had come by to check on what I was up to. Or the time when I tried to deposit a check made out to my business name and ended up on a week-long quest to get all the necessary documentation to my bank. I'm not even going to mention wintergreen oil, rubber duckies, or glitter...

It's a little like sailing in new waters. You can get lucky, happily sailing along without any problems. Or, like most sailors, sooner or later you crash into nearby rocks and cliffs or run aground on the shoals, reefs and sand bars hidden just below the surface.

In this book I share my extensive research and experience, and map out the most likely obstacles and barriers you may encounter. My goal is to provide you with the information you need to safely avoid the hazards and steer clear of potential catastrophe for your business.

May you have clear sailing ahead!