Product testing is an absolutely essential aspect of creating beautiful cosmetics that will do exactly as advertised and are fit for purpose to ensure the customer/end-user has a wonderful experience.
Safety Assessments
Backpedalling a little; one of the essential aspects of selling cosmetic products is the need for a Cosmetic Product Safety Report (CPSR). This is a document that is written to the requirements defined in the Cosmetic Regulations by a suitably qualified individual. This person reviews the ingredients used in a formulation for safety purposes and will consider product type, application, dermal exposure, and identification of any restrictions or prohibitions. These factors combined will be as stated and safe for use by the general public.
The key term here is SAFETY – not aesthetically pleasing, not lovely to use but SAFE.
Soaposh Flexi Assessments
As industry leaders in the supply of cosmetic ingredients and CPSRs, Soaposh, in conjunction with experienced cosmetic chemist Scott Grainger; introduced the first assessments that allowed flexibility through optional and variable ingredients – the Flexi Assessments.
These innovative reports allow a base product to be created in a multitude of different styles e.g. a base formulation with variable surfactants and a range of optional colours and shimmer ingredients in any shape, crumble, powder, etc.
Now we know CPSRs have assessed the SAFETY of the ingredients. This though does not negate the need to THOROUGHLY TEST final products that you wish to sell to the public.
For example, a colour is allowed ‘up to x%’, although this is a SAFE usage level you will still need to undertake testing. Dumping the maximum SAFE allowance of colour into a product may still have effects such as colour transfer that, as manufacturers, we would prefer to avoid.
To retain a level of creativity when designing and making our products, and let’s be honest, Flexi assessments allow for thousands of outcomes, using a red colour can be pale pastel pink or can be pillar box red, or any shade in between. Colours can be swirled, striped, layered, etc. This combination will fall within ‘safe limits’ but will still need to be TESTED by us the maker, prior to being put up for sale.
You will need to test and monitor your products over time to determine a suitable egg timer or period after opening symbol for packaging purposes. Again, using a bath bomb as an example; if they are exposed to a humid atmosphere or allowed to get cold during storage – the fizzing and foaming action can be reduced. If they are exposed to sunlight then the colours may fade. From a safety perspective, these bath bombs will still be ‘safe to use’ but aesthetically and functionally, they may not represent your company vision.
Personal Assessments
This type of assessment is perhaps the opposite of the Flexi Assessments in that you will have developed a formulation and range of end products through testing. These formulations are then assessed for safety to obtain the CPSR using your own choice of ingredients and combinations.
Again, we do have to repeat that there are no shortcuts in testing. These reports are an expensive business investment and you must be absolutely sure that the included products are exactly as you want. Trying to make adjustments at a later date because an ingredient in a variation does not work as anticipated is a costly mistake that could be prevented by thorough testing.
Final Thoughts
- TESTING is an absolute necessity to provide the public with quality cosmetic products.
- A Flexi Assessment will skip much of the expense of testing but it does NOT mean you can just immediately make a product that ‘fits’ the report and sell it to create instant income
- A Personal Assessment needs thorough testing of the formulations included to ensure you are totally comfortable with your products and believe they fully reflect your business ethos and vision.
- Your products reflect wholly on your business. We must not forget this is a business and, as such, it requires investment in effort, time, testing, and final design development. These factors are crucial to create products that will ensure customers want to return, shop with you, and put more of their hard-earned cash into your income column.
