Safety Assessment FAQ

If you want to make and sell your own cosmetics, a Cosmetic Safety Assessment Report (CPSR) is a legal requirement. Our CPSRs have been created specifically for small-scale producers.

PURCHASING ASSESSMENTS

How do I buy an assessment? You simply need to purchase our assessments here. You will need to download and fill out a CPSR Form, which can be found here. Please also read our 'Do's and Don'ts of Submitting for Assessment' article too. The email address to send your completed form to is assessments@naturallybalmy.co.uk. Once we have checked your recipes we will begin the process of writing your report which will usually be completed and returned to you in 8 weeks.

 

How do the assessment packages work? With our assessment report packages, you can certify one single cosmetic base and you can have up to 5, 8 or 12 variations of your recipe (depending on the assessment you buy). If you wish to include more variants, please email us for a bespoke price. Variations mean different scents / colours / herbs. You can have 1 base recipe, which can contain up to 10 ingredients, and up to 5 extra ingredients in each variation.

What if I have more than the specified amount of ingredients in the base / variations? We can still process your assessment, but we'll charge an admin fee, usually of around £30+VAT.

Are your assessments valid outside the UK? Yes, they are valid throughout all of the UK and Europe.

How long will the assessment take? After we have checked your recipes with the assessor, and you have made any required changes, we will then submit your recipes for write-up. We aim to have your CPSR completed and returned to you within 8 weeks from this time.

Do I get the plain unscented cosmetic base included automatically in the assessment? Yes the base is assessed individually within the report, it can therefore be sold as a separate product.

Can I buy an assessment package and add some variants now, some later? Yes; you don't have to submit all your variants at once, you can submit any remaining variants up to 6 months after your report has been returned to you. However, this will incur a £30 + VAT admin fee. 

Can I add variants onto my package? Additional variants cost £30 + VAT each. Please note that you need to submit these within 12 months of receiving your original report. An admin fee of £30 + VAT may occur in addition to the  variant fee.

Do you do a package for any other product not mentioned on your website? Yes we can assess pretty much any cosmetic product. We cannot however assess hair dyes, or any products which look like food such as donut soaps, cupcake bath bombs etc. Also we can't assess anything too 'medicinal' such as muscle balm, eczema balm etc. You can make a general body balm in this instance but not one specifically designed to 'cure' any ailment.

Do you do a package for perfumes / fragrance products? Perfume type products can go onto a report package, but due to the additional work that goes into them, the prices are higher than that of standard packages, so perfumes/fragrance products need bespoke quotes - these quotes vary a lot, so we cannot give an estimate like we can for other recipes. Please submit requesting a quote so we can speak to the team about it for you. 

SUBMITTING YOUR RECIPES

How do I submit my recipes? You will need to download our submission form to submit your recipes to us - you can do so on our CPSR Forms page here. There is a lot of info on the forms which should answer any questions you have, but do check out our 'Do's and Don'ts of Submitting for Assessment' article too.

Will I need to send any supporting information or documents? Along with your submission you will need to send MSDS documents for every ingredient. In addition, we will need the IFRA and allergen statements for every fragrance, flavour, and essential oil. If the ingredients are purchased from us, you will not have to send the documents as we will have them all on file

Do you need me to send in my products? No, we don't need to physically see your products to produce your safety assessment. You just need to download and fill in our submission form.

Will I fail the assessment? We check over all recipes with our partner assessor first, and if there are any problems, we simply advise you of the changes that should be made so you can re-submit. This part of the process is entirely free.

AFTER PURCHASE

Will I get help with the other legalities of selling cosmetic products, i.e. my PIF, labelling guidance? Yes, once you have purchased an assessment you can request info sheets from us which we can send you for free. However, we cannot offer any more guidance thereafter, and it is your responsibility to make sure you are fully compliant (as per the help sheets), not ours. You will also need to notify the products on the UK Portal (and/or CPNP Portal for EU sales), the UK Portal can be accessed via the following link: Submit a cosmetic product notification - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Will I need any additional testing for my products, such as challenge testing / stability testing? For most single phase products, i.e. balms, oils, scrubs etc. you won't need to get any additional testing done as stability is assumed for these products. The only products which may need challenge testing are emulsions, as the efficacy of the preservative needs to be tested. However our assessor will advise on if this is needed once he sees your recipes.

WHAT IS / ISN'T PERMITTED

Can I use my own honey / beeswax? You can add commercial honey in lip balms, but if you're wanting to use your own honey, beeswax or propolis, a TVC test will need to be carried out for each batch. This is valid for lip balms and other leave-on products. For CP/HP soap, there are no additional tests needed when using your own.

Can I make my products look and smell like food (i.e. donuts, cupcakes, slice of pie etc)? No, unfortunately not; even if you're putting warnings on the labels, vulnerable people may not read these warnings and there is a real danger of them ingesting them.

Can I make multiple shapes/designs of soaps under the same variant? Yes you can; as long as it’s the same recipe / ingredients and you write ‘no food imitation’ on the variant description.

Can I use wild botanicals? You can't forage your own botanicals due to pesticides etc. You must use home grown or commercially purchased dry botanicals for CP soaps. Or just commercially purchased for all other products. 

Can I use CBD in lip balms / other products? CBD isolate is not allowed in lip balms due to controversies and uncertainties within some EU regulations. We assess according to EU regulations. The reports must be in line with all EU countries. While CBD isolates are legal in the UK, they can only be inhaled or vaped. They cannot be ingested as a powder or used with a carrier oil. This makes the usage of CBD isolate oils illegal. Only full-spectrum CBD Oil that contains less than 0.2% of THC is legal for consumption. Generally we say 1% maximum – and a cosmetic function must be given – i.e. moisturising, etc.