Containers should be one of first considerations with lots of time devoted to research into the container that will work best for your formulation. A cosmetic formulator and developer of products understand the container is a crucial part of the development. These container tips and questions for natural hair and skin care products will help to guide you to choose the best container for your product.

Here are a few questions to consider for the best container for your formulation:

1.     Is the formulation compatible with the container?

2.     Are there essential oils in your formulation?

3.     If there are essential oils, did you ask the supplier if the container is compatible with your formulation with essential oils? Essential oils can be absorbed into some plastic containers.

4.     Are there herbal extracts in your formulation that color the formulation and it doesn’t look attractive in a clear container and needs to be in a non transparent container?

5.     How long will this product last for the consumer? If the product is used once a day how many pumps before it is empty? If it is a facial cream and lasts for 30 days, does the price align with your customer and brand?

6.     Do you need a smaller container for the formulation to be used up sooner for the preservative system to remain effective in it?

7.     Do you understand the purpose of each plastic container? PET, LDPE, HDPE, PP, PS, PVC?

8.     If you want to use glass, do you know the shipping costs to you and to ship to your customer?

9.     What are the industry trends for containers?

10.  Do you need a tube container? Currently tube containers are the trend. The consumer cannot get to the formulation and this is great for natural preservative systems. Do you want your label printed on the tube?

11.  Does the container need to be recyclable to align with your brand?

12.  Does the bottle need to be squeezed to dispense the product? If so, can the bottle be easily squeezed? Some plastics are too hard to squeeze to get the product out, and it may need a pump lid.

13.  What is the best closure for the container? Disc top cap, mist sprayer, dome lid, flat lid, metal lid, ribbed lid, smooth lid, pump lid?

14.  If you are considering a jar, does the formulation have an effective strong preservative system for the consumer to dip their fingers into the formulation introducing bacteria and mold and the consumer to leave the lid off the jar?

15.  If it needs a pump lid, what length and width dip tube do you need? Do you like an uplock or downlock pump? Skirt pump or palm pump? Treatment pump or foamer pump or airless pump? What color; natural, white, black, clear or a metal shell around it? Do you want matte or shiny or smooth or ribbed pump?

16.  Is the pump easy to pump? Does it dispense the correct amount of product? Not too much? How many pumps for usage?

17.  How is the container going to be filled? Filling machine or by hand? Does the container work for the machine or have an opening wide enough to fill the formulation?

18.  Are you using any other packaging? Will the container be in a box? If so, will the container fit in the box and is the box easy to source?

19.  What is the cost of your container? I have seen clients spend way too much money on the container when sometimes the label can be the focal point.

20.  Will your label fit on the container? Some container shapes may be unique but labels will not fit properly and you will have to pay a lot to have a label custom fitted to the shape of the container.

When you take time to research and test the container, you will understand this crucial step as a cosmetic formulator, product developer and/or business owner. It will save you time, money and customer issues when you research and do container testing to find the best container for your product. These are just a few questions. The container is so important. I cover all about containers; sourcing containers, testing the formulation in the container and much more in the Professional Natural Hair Care Product Making Course and the Professional Natural Skin Care Product Making Course.

 Joan Morais is a natural cosmetic formulator, instructor, author and the owner of Joan Morais Naturals. Joan assists product makers on how to make high quality, stable and effective natural body, hair and skin care products for personal use and a product making business.