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I am now  a member of the Guild of Craft Soap & Toiletry Makers (GCSTM). The guild is a non-commercial peer support network that provides information and guidelines about handmade soap crafting and the UK/EU legislation that regulates the cosmetics and toiletries industry.

All cosmetics sellers, including the full range of soap and/or bath & body products, must have product safety assessments in place before they can legally be placed on the market. Once assessed, all products must then be registered via the Office for Product Safety & Standards (OPSS) on the UK Government Portal.

A major reason for the existence of the Guild is to raise awareness of the Cosmetics Products (Safety) Regulations. The legislation sets standards. It aims to ensure that every ingredient in hand-crafted soap and toiletry products is safe to use. Some ingredients are banned because they’ve been found by scientific testing to be potentially harmful. Other products are banned or restricted because they contain potential allergens. The aim of the legislation is to protect the general public and the craft soap and toiletry maker.