# listing ingredients



## Joni342 (Mar 18, 2011)

Hi, I am going to be putting a soap gift basket into a Chinese auction fundraiser this weekend...this will be my first time giving soap away to anyone other than family.  So, I want to list my ingredients on the soaps.  

My question is...I'm using micas from TKB trading...do I need to list the ingredients in the mica individually?  I'm looking on the TKB site, and it lists for example, mica, titanium dioxide, tin oxide, and iron oxide.  

Also, should I list all the ingredients in the melt and pour soap base?  

If so, I'm going to need bigger labels!!  :shock: 

Thanks,
Joanie


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## Genny (Mar 19, 2011)

Yes, you do need to list all the ingredients in melt and pour soap, unless it qualifies as "actual soap."  There's not a lot of bases out there that qualify, check with the supplier to see if it does.  
  When listing color, you do need to list the ingredients of the color (learned that from the FDA site).
  Plus, it's really nice to have all the ingredients listed for the user, that way they know if they are allergic to anything in there before using it or giving it away.

p.s. What's a Chinese auction?


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## Catmehndi (Mar 23, 2011)

If your label is not big enough, you can always use a cardboard tag :idea:


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## Fullamoon (Mar 30, 2011)

Ive contacted my vendor of melt and pour regarding the ingredients in the melt and pour I make my soap out of. She told me their product is "real glycerin soap". Does that mean my ingredients could be listed as:

Ingredients: Real glycerin soap, fragrance and essential oils.


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## dagmar88 (Mar 30, 2011)

Whose the vendor of your base?

Honestly, if someone is not going to provide you with serous ingredient information I would not even want to buy from them.

'real glycerine soap' is a laugh IMO.


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## Fullamoon (Mar 30, 2011)

It's Life of the Party Essentials. So what you are saying is I need to list all of the ingredients that appears on their glycerin melt & pour soap, plus all the ingredients from their essential oils plus all the ingredients listed on their special soap colorings? If I have to do that, I would need a gigantic sticker for my packaging. It doesn't seem right. I've never bought a hand soap in a store that has all those ingredients listed.   Am I missing something?


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## Tabitha (Mar 30, 2011)

Here's the ingredients for life of the party: 

Aqua, Propylene Glycol, Sodium Stearate, Glycerine, Sucrose, Sodium Laurate, Sorbitol, Sodium Laureth Sulphate, Sodium Lauryl Sulphate, Sodium Chloride, Stearic Acid, Lauric Acid, Vitamin E, Aloe, Pentasodium Pentetate, Tetrasodium Etidronate

According to the FDA it is not soap, it is a detergent. This is determined by the ingredient list. Because your soap is indeed is a detergent, that makes it a cosmetic & not a soap. You may call it soap & even write soap on the label, but the FDA requires proper cosmetic labeling for this which includes but is not limited to full ingredient list, weight of item and your full contact address, yes address, not email, not www, street address.

Don't worry, my soap is a cosmetic too  .


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## Tabitha (Mar 30, 2011)

You don't have to list out all ingredients in the fragrance, Essential oil or fragrance oil will cover you on that.


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## Genny (Mar 30, 2011)

Yep, if it's not considered soap, which I'm pretty sure it's not, then it's considered a cosmetic.  Cosmetics are regulated by the FDA, who state that you need to list all ingredients.
So you would need to list all the ingredients of the soap base and the color.
You also need to list the weight of the soap and the address of where it's made.

Also, for the fragrance you list fragrance, because they're not going to give you the ingredients for those.  No supplier will.

The reason I think soap you find in the store doesn't usually have the ingredients, is because they can afford the fines when/if they are fined.
Although, I have been seeing more and more of them starting to list the ingredients.

Can I ask how long you've been using Life of the Party base?


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## Genny (Mar 30, 2011)

Oops, Tabitha, it looks like I was typing while you were posting


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## Fullamoon (Mar 30, 2011)

Only a few months now because it's readily available at craft stores. I am thinking of ordering from Brambleberry online - I love watching their tutorials.  Thank you all for your help. It's so confusing. I see I have LOTS of learning and reading up to do.


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## Fullamoon (Mar 31, 2011)

Dagmar, I did bring this to their attention, that it is considered a detergent, and they did apologize. She said that because they don't sell the final product, they don't keep up with the labeling requirements. They do list the ingredients of the melt & pour on the top of the container.


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## llineb (Mar 31, 2011)

Tabitha said:
			
		

> Here's the ingredients for life of the party:
> 
> Aqua, Propylene Glycol, Sodium Stearate, Glycerine, Sucrose, Sodium Laurate, Sorbitol, Sodium Laureth Sulphate, Sodium Lauryl Sulphate, Sodium Chloride, Stearic Acid, Lauric Acid, Vitamin E, Aloe, Pentasodium Pentetate, Tetrasodium Etidronate
> 
> ...



Very informative!  thank you for that!....didn't know about the address.


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## Tabitha (Mar 31, 2011)

The address is there in case someone has a reaction so they can contact you & get your insurance information and also so you can give them more details about the product if they need it.


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## Fullamoon (Mar 31, 2011)

I guess I don't understand why you would need insurance if someone has a reaction. I've had reactions to Noxzema, Ponds, Oil of Olay...but I never thought to contact their insurance companies. If you list the ingredients and someone is allergic to it, isn't it up to them not to use the product?


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## Fullamoon (Mar 31, 2011)

Correction: I DO understand why. I just find it sad that someone would sue if they have a reaction. :roll: If you had sensitive skin, wouldn't you test first in an inconspicuous spot just as you would hair dye.


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## Tabitha (Mar 31, 2011)

Some soap makers should be sued. There are those who make/sell products & don't have a clue what they are doing, what is & is not soap or skin safe, etc.


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## llineb (Mar 31, 2011)

Well, for example...someone may not know shea butter soap is made from shea (a nut) and be allergic to nuts. I wouldn't want to risk my personal assets in a civil court if someone had a bad allergic reaction and it was my product that "caused" it.

Entitlement... unfortunately it's the American way.  :roll:


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## Catmehndi (Apr 4, 2011)

Fullamoon said:
			
		

> I guess I don't understand why you would need insurance if someone has a reaction. I've had reactions to Noxzema, Ponds, Oil of Olay...but I never thought to contact their insurance companies. If you list the ingredients and someone is allergic to it, isn't it up to them not to use the product?


You would think so but there are people who are ready to sue just about anyone about anything...haven't you heard about the person who sued MacDonald's because they burned themselves with the coffee? That's why it now says 'caution, hot' on the coffee cups (or so the story goes)

Don't trust that everyone will be willing to walk away and stop buying or using your products if there's a reaction - someone might come around and decide to take legal action.


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## AZ Soaper (Apr 15, 2011)

Or the guy who sued(and won mind you) the RV company because he put the cruise control on and got up and made a sandwich and totaled the RV. No where in the instruction manual did it say when the cruise control was on that you needed to stay at the wheel.

He must have had a good lawyer and that is why you need insurance.


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## Genny (Apr 18, 2011)

My favorite is the woman who got scared by squirrels outside a mall and sued because the mall didn't have signs that said there are squirrels outside. :shock:


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## Catmehndi (Apr 19, 2011)

here's my own favorite though the veracity of it is somewhat dubious....

A Charlotte, North Carolina man, having purchased a case of rare, very expensive cigars, insured them against (get this) fire! Within a month, having smoked his entire stockpile of fabulous cigars, and having yet to make a single premium payment on the policy, the man filed a claim against the insurance company.

In his claim, the man stated that he had lost the cigars "in a series of small fires." The insurance company refused to pay, citing the obvious reason that the man had consumed the cigars in a normal fashion. The man sued -- and won! In delivering his ruling, the judge stated that since the man held a policy from the company in which it had warranted that the cigars were insurable and also guaranteed that the cigars would be insured against fire, without defining what it considered to be unacceptable fire, it was obligated to compensate the insured for his loss.

Rather than endure a lengthy and costly appeal process, the insurance company grudgingly accepted the judge's ruling and paid the man $15,000 for the rare cigars he lost in the fires. After the man cashed his check, however, the insurance company had him arrested on 24 counts of arson. With his own insurance claim and testimony from the previous case being used as evidence against him, the man was convicted of intentionally burning the rare cigars and sentenced to 24 consecutive one-year terms.

So don't piss off your insurance company!


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