# Skin Insider > A publication about the skincare industry rather than about skincare products. How a cosmetic is developed and who really formulates it, what a brand owns and what a contract manufacturer owns, what marketing phrases are legally permitted to mean, and who profits from each practice. Edited and published by Northbank Media. ## Rules this publication works to - No brand, manufacturer, retailer or agency is named anywhere in editorial. Practices are described structurally, never attributed to a named company. - No affiliate links, anywhere. No commission is taken on any sale. - No invented clinic, product, price, margin, study or statistic. Where the trade quotes a figure that cannot be sourced publicly, the mechanism is described and the figure is stated to be unverifiable. - No rankings of any kind. The paid supplier register is alphabetical, labelled paid, and carries only disclosed verifiable facts. - No product reviews and no press samples. - Journalism about an industry, not medical, legal or regulatory advice. ## The signature device A translation quotes a phrase exactly as it appears on packs and in advertising, then sets out what it is legally permitted to mean, what it does not mean, and what would have to be true for the strong reading to hold. Index: https://www.skinsideruk.com/translations ## Sections ### Formulation: https://www.skinsideruk.com/formulation How a cosmetic is actually developed: who writes the brief, who chooses the level of an active, what a stability test is protecting, and why the formula that reaches you is the one that survived every constraint at once. - [Who actually formulates the skincare you buy](https://www.skinsideruk.com/formulation/who-actually-formulates-your-skincare): In most cases the formula in your bathroom was designed by a cosmetic chemist employed by a contract manufacturer, working to a written brief from the brand. The brand supplies the positioning, the target price - [How ingredient percentages are chosen, and why the number on the front rarely means what you think](https://www.skinsideruk.com/formulation/how-ingredient-percentages-are-chosen): A percentage printed on the front of a cosmetic pack has no fixed meaning. It may refer to the pure active, or to a supplier's blend that is mostly solvent, or to an extract of unstated strength. It is chosen b - [What happens in a stability test, and what it is really protecting](https://www.skinsideruk.com/formulation/what-happens-in-a-stability-test): Stability testing puts a finished formula through accelerated ageing at raised and lowered temperatures, in the pack it will actually be sold in, and checks whether it separates, discolours, changes odour, shif - [How a brief becomes a formula: the development pipeline nobody shows you](https://www.skinsideruk.com/formulation/how-a-brief-becomes-a-formula): Cosmetic development runs through a fixed sequence: a written brief with a target cost and launch date, bench samples at small scale, selection against feel and appearance, stability and compatibility testing i - [Preservation, and why the least glamorous decision in the formula is the most important one](https://www.skinsideruk.com/formulation/preservation-and-why-a-formula-needs-it): Any cosmetic containing water is capable of supporting microbial growth, which is why almost every water containing product carries a preservation system. Systems are chosen for the pH of the formula, the pack, ### Manufacture: https://www.skinsideruk.com/manufacture Who owns the formula, why so many products are built the same way, what a minimum order quantity quietly decides, what good manufacturing practice covers, and why the pack is a formulation decision rather than a wrapper. - [What a brand owns and what a contract manufacturer owns](https://www.skinsideruk.com/manufacture/what-a-brand-owns-and-what-a-contract-manufacturer-owns): In a typical contract manufacturing arrangement the brand owns the trade marks, the artwork, the brief and the customer relationship. The manufacturer owns the plant, the process knowledge and, very often, the - [Why so many skincare products are nearly identical](https://www.skinsideruk.com/manufacture/why-so-many-products-are-nearly-identical): Convergence in skincare has four structural causes. Contract manufacturers sell stock and semi bespoke bases that many brands adapt lightly. Raw material suppliers publish starting formulations that circulate w - [What a minimum order quantity quietly decides about the product you buy](https://www.skinsideruk.com/manufacture/what-a-minimum-order-quantity-decides): A minimum order quantity is the smallest batch a factory or component supplier will produce. It shapes the product in ways shoppers never see: which pack formats are available to a brand, how many shades a rang - [Inside a cosmetic factory: what good manufacturing practice actually means](https://www.skinsideruk.com/manufacture/inside-a-cosmetic-factory-what-good-manufacturing-practice-means): Good manufacturing practice for cosmetics is a system of documented control covering personnel, premises, equipment, raw materials, production, finished product release, records and handling of complaints and r - [Packaging decides more than you think, and it is a formulation decision](https://www.skinsideruk.com/manufacture/packaging-decides-more-than-you-think): The pack is part of the product. It determines exposure to air and light, which decides whether certain actives are usable at all. It determines dosing, which decides how long the product lasts and how much you ### Claims: https://www.skinsideruk.com/claims What clinically proven is permitted to mean, how dermatologist tested differs from dermatologist recommended, how natural and free from claims work legally, what sits in a claims dossier, and what happens when a claim is challenged. - [What clinically proven is allowed to mean, and what it is not](https://www.skinsideruk.com/claims/what-clinically-proven-is-allowed-to-mean): Clinically proven is not a defined term with a fixed threshold. In cosmetics it usually refers to a study conducted under supervision on human volunteers, which may measure instrumental readings, expert grading - [Dermatologist recommended and dermatologist tested are not the same claim](https://www.skinsideruk.com/claims/dermatologist-recommended-versus-dermatologist-tested): Dermatologist tested means a dermatologist was involved in testing the product, usually a tolerance test on a panel of volunteers under supervision. It says nothing about the result of that test or about effica - [How natural, clean and free from claims work, legally](https://www.skinsideruk.com/claims/how-natural-clean-and-free-from-claims-work): Natural, clean and free from have no agreed statutory definition for cosmetics in the UK. Voluntary certification schemes define natural and organic content for their own members, and where a product carries su - [How a claim is substantiated before it is printed](https://www.skinsideruk.com/claims/how-a-claim-is-substantiated-before-it-is-printed): Before an objective claim is published, the advertiser must hold evidence capable of substantiating it. In cosmetics that evidence lives in a claims support dossier: study reports, ingredient literature, consum - [What the ASA actually does when a skincare claim is challenged](https://www.skinsideruk.com/claims/what-the-asa-actually-does-when-a-claim-is-challenged): The Advertising Standards Authority administers the UK advertising codes and acts principally on complaints, from consumers or from competitors. It assesses the overall impression an advertisement creates, asks ### Regulation: https://www.skinsideruk.com/regulation The Cosmetic Product Safety Report and who signs it, the line between a cosmetic and a medicine, who the responsible person is, how a recall actually happens, and the whole obligation set in one place. - [What a Cosmetic Product Safety Report is, and who signs it](https://www.skinsideruk.com/regulation/what-a-cosmetic-product-safety-report-is-and-who-signs-it): A Cosmetic Product Safety Report is a two part document that must exist for every cosmetic before it is placed on the UK market. Part A gathers the safety information: composition, toxicological profile of each - [The line between a cosmetic and a medicine, and why brands crowd it](https://www.skinsideruk.com/regulation/the-line-between-a-cosmetic-and-a-medicine): A cosmetic is a substance intended to be applied to the external parts of the body wholly or mainly to clean, perfume, change appearance, protect, keep in good condition or correct body odours. A medicinal prod - [Who the responsible person is, and why that address on the pack matters](https://www.skinsideruk.com/regulation/who-the-responsible-person-is-and-why-it-matters): Every cosmetic placed on the UK market must have a responsible person: a named legal entity established in the UK, whose name and address appear on the label. They are accountable for compliance, must hold the - [What happens when a cosmetic is recalled, and who makes it happen](https://www.skinsideruk.com/regulation/what-happens-when-a-cosmetic-is-recalled): A recall usually begins with information rather than an inspection: a consumer report, a complaint pattern, a market surveillance sweep, an alert from another authority or a manufacturer's own testing. The resp - [What the UK Cosmetics Regulation actually requires, start to finish](https://www.skinsideruk.com/regulation/what-the-uk-cosmetics-regulation-actually-requires): Before a cosmetic can be sold in the UK it needs a designated responsible person established here, a safety assessment by a qualified assessor, a product information file held at the address on the label, manuf ### Label: https://www.skinsideruk.com/label How to read a pack in the order that yields information, what INCI ordering does and does not tell you, what the dates and codes are for, and how to tell a bargain from a product you cannot assess. - [How to read a cosmetic label properly, in order](https://www.skinsideruk.com/label/how-to-read-a-cosmetic-label-in-order): Read a cosmetic pack from the back, not the front. Start with the responsible person's address, which tells you there is an accountable party in the UK. Then the ingredient list, which is the only compositional - [What INCI ordering does and does not tell you](https://www.skinsideruk.com/label/what-inci-ordering-does-and-does-not-tell-you): Ingredients are listed using international nomenclature in descending order of weight at the time they were added, but only down to one per cent. Below that threshold they may be listed in any order. Colourants - [Period after opening, batch codes and dates: the small print that matters](https://www.skinsideruk.com/label/period-after-opening-batch-codes-and-dates): The period after opening symbol gives the number of months a product is expected to remain fit for use once opened. A date of minimum durability is used where the unopened shelf life is short. The batch code id - [The grey market, and why a discounted product may not be what it says](https://www.skinsideruk.com/label/the-grey-market-and-why-a-discounted-product-may-not-be-what-it-says): Grey market goods are genuine products sold outside a brand's authorised distribution: parallel imports intended for another market, diverted retail or professional stock, and stock from closed businesses. They - [Front of pack versus back of pack: two documents, one box](https://www.skinsideruk.com/label/front-of-pack-versus-back-of-pack): The front of a cosmetic pack is a marketing communication governed by rules requiring that it not mislead. The back is a compliance document governed by a list of particulars that must appear. They are written ### Money: https://www.skinsideruk.com/money Where the price of a jar actually goes, how affiliate commission shapes what you are shown, what seeding is designed to produce, how the retail calendar runs the industry, and what a sale price signals. - [The economics of a moisturiser, from formulation to shelf](https://www.skinsideruk.com/money/the-economics-of-a-moisturiser-from-formulation-to-shelf): The price of a cosmetic is built from raw materials, packaging components, manufacturing, testing and regulatory work, warehousing and distribution, retailer margin, marketing and customer acquisition, returns - [How affiliate commission shapes what you are shown](https://www.skinsideruk.com/money/how-affiliate-commission-shapes-what-you-are-shown): Affiliate commission pays a publisher or creator a share of the sale when a reader buys through their link. It is legal and widespread, and it must be disclosed clearly. What it changes is selection: products t - [Sampling, seeding and the PR list: how products reach the people who talk about them](https://www.skinsideruk.com/money/sampling-seeding-and-the-pr-list): Sampling puts product in the hands of consumers to drive trial. Seeding sends product to creators, journalists and stylists in the hope of coverage, usually with no contractual obligation attached. Gifting must - [How launch calendars and shade ranges are decided](https://www.skinsideruk.com/money/how-launch-calendars-and-shade-ranges-are-decided): Launch timing is set by retail range reviews, seasonal trading windows and component lead times, not by when a product is ready. Retailers review ranges at fixed points in the year, and missing a window means w - [How discounting works, and what a sale price actually signals](https://www.skinsideruk.com/money/how-discounting-works-and-what-a-sale-price-signals): A discount can indicate ageing stock, an overordered production run, a discontinued line, a seasonal promotional slot, a customer acquisition offer, or a price that was set high to be cut. Reference prices used ## Reference - About and funding: https://www.skinsideruk.com/about - Editorial standards: https://www.skinsideruk.com/editorial-standards - Translation index: https://www.skinsideruk.com/translations - Supplier register: https://www.skinsideruk.com/register - Register criteria and fees: https://www.skinsideruk.com/register/criteria - Newsletter and sponsorship limits: https://www.skinsideruk.com/newsletter - Privacy: https://www.skinsideruk.com/privacy ## Machine access - Feed: https://www.skinsideruk.com/feed.xml - Sitemap: https://www.skinsideruk.com/sitemap.xml - Publisher: Northbank Media (https://www.skinsideruk.com/publisher) - Attribution: cite the title and the article URL. ## Trademark Product and company names mentioned here are the trademarks of their respective owners. Use of a name does not imply any affiliation or endorsement.