Why I Believe Small Cosmetic Businesses Shouldn't Manufacture Water-Based Products Themselves

This is probably going to be an unpopular opinion, but after years of study and our assessor assessing cosmetic formulations and seeing how products are made by small businesses, it's something I feel increasingly strongly about.

If your product contains water, I genuinely believe it should be manufactured by an ISO-certified cosmetic manufacturer.

Before anyone panics, I'm not saying you shouldn't formulate your own products. Quite the opposite.

But when it comes to manufacturing products that contain water, I think that's where the responsibility should be handed over to a professional manufacturing facility.

Water is one of the biggest challenges in cosmetic manufacturing.

It creates the perfect environment for bacteria, yeast and mould to grow if contamination is introduced at any stage during manufacture.

The difficult part is that contamination often isn't obvious.

You can't see bacterial spores. You can't tell if mould spores have entered a batch while you're pouring ingredients or filling bottles.

It only takes a tiny amount of contamination for microorganisms to multiply under the right conditions.

This is why microbiological safety is taken so seriously throughout the cosmetics industry.

Professional cosmetic manufacturers don't simply have nicer equipment. They operate under Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), following strict procedures designed to reduce every possible opportunity for contamination.

That includes things like:

  • Controlled manufacturing environments
  • Validated cleaning procedures
  • Sanitised equipment
  • Staff hygiene procedures
  • Controlled ingredient storage
  • Packaging handling procedures
  • Batch records
  • Traceability
  • Environmental cleaning schedules

These requirements don't disappear simply because you're producing smaller batches in your kitchen, workshop or garage.

The legal responsibility to place a safe cosmetic product on the market remains exactly the same whether you manufacture 20 bottles or 20,000.

One of the biggest misconceptions I see is the belief that adding a preservative makes everything safe.

It doesn't.

A preservative helps protect a product against microbial contamination during its intended shelf life but it cannot compensate for poor manufacturing practices or heavily contaminated raw materials, equipment or packaging.

If contamination is introduced during manufacture, you've already increased the challenge your preservative system has to overcome, so good manufacturing should always be your first line of defence.

Many cosmetic ingredients require specific storage conditions.

Preservatives, antioxidants and other functional ingredients can lose effectiveness if stored outside the manufacturer's recommended temperature range.

Always read your supplier's technical documentation. Store ingredients correctly. Rotate stock. Protect them from excessive heat, moisture and direct sunlight where required.

Looking after your raw materials is just as important as looking after your finished products.

Another issue that's often overlooked is packaging contamination.

If your bottles, jars or tubes arrive covered in cardboard fibres, paper dust or warehouse debris, don't simply wipe them off and carry on.

That dust can harbour bacterial and fungal spores that may be transferred directly into your product during filling.

Professional manufacturers carefully control packaging cleanliness before products are filled.

What Happens If Something Goes Wrong?

This is the part that many new businesses never think about.

If one of your cosmetic products causes a serious undesirable effect or is found to present a risk to consumers, there are legal obligations that follow.

Depending on the circumstances, this may include:

  • Investigating and documenting the issue
  • Identifying affected batches
  • Notifying the relevant competent authorities
  • Contacting customers
  • Carrying out a product recall where necessary

A product recall isn't simply posting on social media that there's a problem.

It involves documented procedures, traceability and, in some cases, public notices to ensure affected consumers are informed.

Aside from the financial cost, the damage to your brand's reputation can be significant.

No small business wants to find itself in that position.

If your dream is to create a skincare range, absolutely do it. Learn cosmetic science. Develop your own formulations. Carry out stability testing and microbiological testing. Perfect the product until you're completely happy with it.

Then have it manufactured by an ISO-certified cosmetic manufacturer operating under Good Manufacturing Practice.

You'll benefit from professional manufacturing controls, validated cleaning procedures and a production environment specifically designed to minimise microbiological contamination.

Personally, I believe small businesses are far better suited to producing anhydrous (water-free) cosmetics themselves.

Products such as:

  • Lip balms
  • Body butters
  • Bath Bombs
  • Body Oils
  • Bubble Bars
  • Cold process soap
  • Body Scrubs

 Though don't think these are immune, I've seen testing done on body oils before where yeast has been present, so GMP still applies! These products still require Good Manufacturing Practice, clean equipment and careful handling, but they generally present a much lower microbiological risk than water-based formulations.

That doesn't mean they can be made carelessly—but they are far more forgiving from a microbiological perspective.

Good Manufacturing Practice isn't just something for large factories.

Whether you're making products from your spare room or running a growing skincare brand, understanding GMP should be one of the first investments you make.

If you're serious about manufacturing cosmetics, I strongly recommend purchasing a copy of ISO 22716 – Cosmetics: Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). It explains the principles expected of cosmetic manufacturers and provides an invaluable framework for producing products safely and consistently.

Your customers trust you every time they apply one of your products.

That trust deserves more than a beautiful label and a pleasant fragrance—it deserves products that have been manufactured with safety at the forefront of every step.




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