Soap & Handmade4 min read
Using Titanium Dioxide to Whiten Soap Without Trouble
How to list titanium dioxide correctly on a soap label and what to check before you rely on it as a whitener.
May 10, 2026Read
Soap & Handmade
True soap versus cosmetic, cold process, melt and pour, small batch.
Soap & Handmade4 min read
Antibacterial Soap Claims: Cosmetic, Drug, or Neither
Why saying your soap kills germs can turn it into a drug overnight, and what wording keeps it a cosmetic instead.
May 8, 2026Read
Soap & Handmade4 min read
The Rinse-Off Allergen Threshold That Governs Soap
Why soap gets a higher fragrance allergen disclosure threshold than lotion, and how that 0.01% rinse-off line actually plays out in a real formula.
May 6, 2026Read
Soap & Handmade4 min read
Listing Oatmeal, Poppy Seed, and Other Soap Exfoliants
How to correctly name botanical and mineral exfoliants like oatmeal, poppy seed, and pumice on a soap ingredient list.
April 26, 2026Read
Soap & Handmade4 min read
Naming Clay, Indigo, and Madder as Soap Colorants
The pretty name on your supplier's clay or indigo bag is rarely the INCI name your soap panel needs, and getting it wrong is an easy fix once you know the pattern.
April 25, 2026Read
Soap & Handmade3 min read
Doing the Allergen Math on an Essential Oil Soap Blend
Working out which fragrance allergens your soap needs to disclose means expanding each essential oil into its constituents, not checking the oil's name against a list.
April 24, 2026Read
Soap & Handmade4 min read
List 2 Fragrance Allergens and the August 2026 Soap Deadline
List 2 becomes mandatory on Canadian labels August 1 2026, adding to the disclosure work soap makers already did for List 1 in April.
April 24, 2026Read
Soap & Handmade4 min read
Are Bath Bombs Cosmetics That Need a CNF in Canada
Bath bombs count as cosmetics in Canada, and the colorants and fizzing agents inside them each need their own compliance check.
April 21, 2026Read
Soap & Handmade4 min read
From Lye Calculator to a Compliant Soap Label
How the oils and lye a calculator spits out actually turn into the INCI ingredient list and declarations your soap label needs.
April 17, 2026Read
Soap & Handmade4 min read
Honey in Soap: How to List It and What to Watch
Honey soap needs correct INCI naming and a look at claims and allergen sourcing before it goes on a Canadian filing.
April 15, 2026Read
Soap & Handmade4 min read
The 10-Day CNF Deadline Explained for Soap Makers
Once your soap crosses from true soap into cosmetic claims, the 10-day CNF clock starts on your first sale, not your first batch.
April 10, 2026Read
Soap & Handmade3 min read
How Canada Decides If Your Bar Is True Soap or a Cosmetic
The alkali-salt-of-fatty-acid test Health Canada uses to separate exempt true soap from a bar that needs a Cosmetic Notification Form.
April 8, 2026Read
Soap & Handmade3 min read
Selling Just 20 Bars a Month Still Means CNF Duties
There is no minimum sales volume that exempts a cosmetic soap maker from filing a Cosmetic Notification Form in Canada.
April 8, 2026Read
Soap & Handmade4 min read
Which Soap Claims Turn a Bar Into a Notifiable Cosmetic
Say your soap moisturizes and you've made a cosmetic claim. Here's the exact language that flips true soap into a product needing a CNF.
April 4, 2026Read
Soap & Handmade4 min read
Importing a Melt and Pour Base: Your Compliance Duties
What changes when your melt and pour soap base comes from overseas, from ingredient verification to who actually files the CNF.
March 26, 2026Read
Soap & Handmade4 min read
Should Water Appear on Your Soap Ingredient List
Whether the lye-dissolving water needs its own Aqua line on a soap label depends on whether your bar is true soap or a cosmetic.
March 19, 2026Read
Soap & Handmade4 min read
Checking Soap Fragrances and Colorants Against the Hotlist
A practical walkthrough for screening handmade soap fragrance oils and colorants against Canada's Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist.
March 12, 2026Read
Soap & Handmade4 min read
US Soap Makers Selling Into Canada: What Changes
The Canadian notification, bilingual labeling, and hotlist checks a US soap maker needs before shipping product north of the border.
March 12, 2026Read
Soap & Handmade4 min read
Do You List Lye and Sodium Hydroxide on a Soap Label
Clears up the common confusion over whether sodium hydroxide belongs on a soap label once saponification has consumed it.
March 8, 2026Read
Soap & Handmade4 min read
Selling Handmade Soap on Etsy to Canadian Buyers
Shipping soap to a Canadian address through Etsy can trigger the same notification and labeling duties as selling from a Canadian storefront.
March 7, 2026Read
Soap & Handmade4 min read
The Cleansing Claim That Keeps Soap Out of Cosmetic Rules
One sentence on your label decides whether your bar is true soap or a cosmetic that needs a full notification.
March 7, 2026Read
Soap & Handmade4 min read
Writing the Ingredient List for a Pure Castile Bar
A single-oil olive castile bar is the simplest possible ingredient panel, which makes it a clean template for getting INCI listing right.
March 7, 2026Read
Soap & Handmade4 min read
Bilingual French and English Labels for Your Soap
Canadian cosmetic labels need English and French, but INCI ingredient names stay in Latin either way. Here is what actually needs translating.
March 5, 2026Read
Soap & Handmade4 min read
Filling In Ingredient Concentration Ranges for Soap
Soap batches vary batch to batch, so the CNF wants a percentage range for your oils and lye, not a single decimal that isn't really true.
March 3, 2026Read