Doing a Cosmetic Regulation Course (EU) to Comply with Legal Requirements

I write so you share. Thank you.

I’m in Madrid at the moment doing a cosmetic regulation course to comply with EU legal requirements.

I’ve been making natural skincare at home for around one year now (time goes fast since my natural skincare course at Naturally Thinking!) and I’m ready for this.

Since then I’ve been chockablocked with a plethora of different natural skincare/herbal remedies/aromatherapy courses from Formula Botanica (including advanced courses, very exciting), making soap (yes, finally, I’m learning how to make soap, never thought I would be interested!), going serious around herbs (doing a course at the Herbal Academy) and soon learning the chemistry of essential oils (very excited about this one!). So, yes, chockablock. Oh, almost forgot! And the course on carrier oils by Susan M. Parker.

There are so many of my skincare formulas my friends and family absolutely love and I’ve come a long way since I started making natural skincare for myself and a few members of my family over a year ago. In fact, over a short period of time, word got around and more and more people started to enjoy what I was making and simply wanted more of it.

I’ve been wanting to take it to the next level (and, believe me, in Europe this is a big bridge to cross!) the very moment my cousin told me she absolutely adored the products I was giving her. I knew she liked them but I thought she had her favourites at the chemist (particular a facial cream she told me about) until one day I discovered she totally (TOTALLY) swore by my products and was telling everybody about them.

This, coupled with the fact that more and more friends were coming back with incredible feedback (and the love I have for making natural skincare, of course) made me want to take it further and produce my skincare under a brand name.

In Europe this means complying with certain regulations that can be a bit daunting, especially if formulating natural skincare cosmetics is new to you (or you’ve never looked into the legal side of things…)

In the US the rules are different (I’ve heard it’s a lot tougher to get your natural skincare business running in the EU) and I’m not sure how this is going to pan out now that Brexit is finally going through in terms of the UK and the rest of Europe, but if you’re serious about creating your natural skincare line and want to take it to the next level you’ll need to find out what you’re next steps are (I’ll leave some links below).

This is just a quick blog entry to let you all know that I’ll be spending the next 12 months getting everything up and running (laboratory, paperwork, tax, etc etc) and I’m planning on having one or two products ready to be launched by the end of the year. One will be a simple aluminium jar of Shea Butter (since I already know how to formulate with it and and also absolutely love shea butter). Shea was the first product I fell in love with for in terms of ingredients.

My idea is to buy organic, 100% pure shea butter from my supplier in the UK who can also prepare my CSPR paperwork and repack it under my new brand name (disclosing when all the paperwork is ready and my business is up and running! – I’d like to know what you all think). Since the legal requirements can be overwhelming (and, believe me, they are), I thought that starting by selling shea butter would be a good way for me to get familiar with the entire process (again, daunting!) while dealing with the simplest of paperwork possible (as this is, in reality, one ingredient working as a product at the same time). I love the idea of selling shea butter anyway and in the future I’d like to go to Ghana and supply it myself to Tenerife but good things come to those who wait.

This product is an easy one for me to get started with and afterwords I’m planning on getting all the paperwork ready for my beautiful lip balm, which I still need to perfect (although I’m ‘almost’ there). So, two products (hopefully) by the end of this year.

And then we’ll take it from there. The beauty of being 50 years old is that I don’t do things anymore to ‘get somewhere’ as I already am here and here is all I need (and all there is). But it is nice to build a little every day and enjoy the process as I go along.

I’m really sorry I don’t have pics this time to share with you but the course has been intense and I didn’t really have much time to do anything else – let’s say I’ve been eating really badly which is such a shame, being in Madrid which is a great place for food! But, again, no time and the course’s classes finished really late.

I recommend a similar course to anyone who is interested in selling natural cosmetics in Europe and would love to hear from you guys if you’re in the USA and you’d like to take your potions & lotions to the next level. I’m all ears.

Patri xx

Helpful Resources

Spain & UK

– (Spanish) Corazon Verde Course on Making Your Natural Skincare Business Legal in Spain
– Naturally Thinking Course on Cosmetic Regulations (note that Brexit might change this)
– Aromantic.co.uk on Complying with Legal Requirements (again, this is an UK course so Brexit might change this)
– Naturally Thinking on GMP (Good Manufacturing Products course)

USA

– FDA Authority Over Cosmetics: How Cosmetics Are Not FDA-Approved, but Are FDA-Regulated
– Small Businesses & Homemade Cosmetics: Fact Sheet
– Cosmetics & U.S. Law
– How Cosmetics are Regulated in the U.S.
– The 8 Most Important FDA Regulations For Cosmetics & Personal Care Product Manufacturers
– A Guide to United States Cosmetic Products Compliance Requirements

Other

– CPNP Website (Cosmetic Product Notification Portal – only for Europe)
– 8 Stress-free tips for selling skincare products from home

Patri Hernandez, CHC, Certified Health Coach & Certified Organic Skincare Alchemist
One day, during my menopausal rollercoaster, I had a spiritual awakening that connected me so deeply with nature, I thought I might sprout leaves. Suddenly, natural ingredients became my obsession—like an addiction, really. My body was magnetically drawn to them, and it wasn’t long before I found myself knee-deep in essential oils, herbs, and all things organic.

From there, it was a slippery slope (a delightfully scented one) into organic skincare formulation. The intoxicating aroma of essential oils, the thrill of crafting something pure with my own hands—I was hooked. It wasn’t enough to just use these natural wonders; I had to create them, surround myself with them. Now, I live on a piece of land where I grow my own organic fruits and vegetables (when the weather isn’t playing tricks on me), and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

When people ask what I do, I like to think about the view from my window—the endless sea—and say, “I live the life dreamers dream of.” It's All about the richness of living in harmony with nature. Watching others turn to natural ingredients because of something I shared with them—that’s my proudest achievement.

Oh, and just to keep things interesting, I’m also a bit of a nerd. I love computers, software, and all the techy stuff that seems like it wouldn’t fit with my earth-loving, oil-sniffing lifestyle. But hey, who says you can’t have the best of both worlds?

My ultimate goal? To help people kick the commercial product habit and embrace the natural, the organic, the truly nourishing. Life’s too short to settle for anything less.

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