Handmade Beauty Products - Are They Safe?

If you are actively involved with direct sales, you've seen the wave of new businesses crashing the scene that claim to sell handmade, affordable bath and body products. Before you purchase from, join one of these companies or consider starting your own business you should know these facts:

Risk of Contamination. Many handmade products are manufactured in someone's kitchen. In order to do so safely, several guidelines must be followed. These guidelines are set by the FDA.

Floors, walls and ceilings must be clean. They must also be smooth so they are easy to keep clean. Stainless work surfaces are idea. There must be no risk of anything falling or dripping into products as they are made. Most homes have textured ceilings. For this fact alone, most kitchens would not meet the FDA standards.

It is recommended that all utensils used in product manufacturing are stainless steel. This means stainless bowls, stainless spoons, stainless funnels, stainless measuring tools, etc. This is the only material that can be properly sterilized. Wood and plastic are porous and cannot be thoroughly sanitized. Sterilization must be done after each use and again before each use if the utensils have sat for any period of time. They must be sterilized with alcohol.

All persons manufacturing bath and body products should wear hair nets, gloves and lab coats (or something the like of) at all times when in contact with materials and even finished product and packaging.

No food or beverages should be anywhere near the area products are produced. (It's quite hard NOT to find food and beverages in the kitchen!)

Materials, finished products, packaging should be stored in a cool, dry and dark area on shelves. Nothing should be stored on the ground. Containers should be tightly closed at all times. This includes bulk supply containers and empty containers that finished products will be poured into. Improper storage may cause products to age and/or spoil rapidly.