Soap Labels

Selling soaps in the United States can be a little confusing since they can have different regulations depending on how they’re intended to be used and their ingredients. Not only can regulations be tricky to understand for new or growing soap makers, but choosing the right materials and design for their custom soap labels can also be stressful. That’s why we’ve created a guide to help soap makers better understand federal regulations so when it’s time to order labels, they can move forward with confidence.
Before getting labels, it’s important to know whether your soap product is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Both are federal agencies that regulate products to protect the public, but which products they regulate is what distinguishes them. Food, pharmaceutical drugs, cosmetics, and products fall under the FDA’s jurisdiction, whereas the CPSC regulates other types of consumer goods like toys, sporting goods, clothing, household cleaning chemicals, and many other items.
The bulk of the nonvolatile matter in the product consists of an alkali salt of fatty acids and the product’s detergent properties are due to the alkali-fatty acid compounds, and
the product is labeled, sold, and represented solely as soap [21 CFR 701.20].
Products that meet this definition of soap are regulated by the CPSC, not by FDA. Questions about these products, such as safety and labeling requirements, should be addressed with the CPSC. If a product intended to cleanse the human body doesn’t meet all of the criteria for soap, as listed above, it’s considered a cosmetic or drug, and thereby regulated by the FDA. For example: