Finding A Natural Cosmetics Lab For Your Beauty Brand
Finding the right natural cosmetics lab is one of the most important - yet difficult - steps for small beauty brands like yours.
Although the definition isn’t clear-cut under US law, misusing the word ‘natural’ could lead to serious legal consequences for making misleading marketing claims.
So, how do you source cosmetics formulated to the correct standard?
Innacos is here to help!
Our in-depth guide below removes all the ambiguity around formulating natural cosmetics and finding the right lab for you.
We discuss how to formulate to ‘natural’ standards, how to ensure your marketing is legally compliant, and the criteria you should use when vetting a lab. Plus, we’ll discuss the various production pathways to create natural makeup and skincare.
The State Of The Natural Cosmetics Market In 2025
The demand for natural cosmetics is steadily increasing. According to GrandViewResearch, the global natural cosmetics market was valued at 31.84 billion in 2023, and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.3% between 2024 to 2030.
This growth coincides with an expectation that brands incorporate ethical manufacturing practices as standard.
Mintel revealed in 2025 that more than half of beauty and personal care launches (in the UK) now include ethical or environmental claims. What was once a unique selling point has become the new norm.
This shift is especially prominent in the US and European markets, where the natural cosmetics category continues to lead.
Cosmetics Design Europe reports that the North American and European markets dominate the natural and organic niche, accounting for over 80% of total sales.
Despite strong growth and emerging opportunities, natural, organic, and clean brands face a common challenge: communicating product effectiveness to consumers.
Mintel’s 2024 consumer research revealed that 20% of non-buyers in Germany believe conventional products deliver better results compared with natural and organic beauty.
This high expectation of quality makes finding a quality natural cosmetics lab even more important.
What Does ‘Natural’ Actually Mean?
Natural Vs Organic
It’s easy to mix up natural and organic cosmetics, but they are not the same.
Organic cosmetics are those made with (at least) 95% organically produced ingredients. On the other hand, natural cosmetics are those made from ingredients with a natural origin, typically derived from plants or minerals, and without synthetic elements.
While organic claims are tightly regulated under US law by the USDA, the term ‘natural’ is not regulated in the US.
That said, the lack of regulation does not mean you can make ‘natural’ claims freely.
‘Natural’ Cosmetics Must Truly Be Natural
Misleading claims are investigated by the FTC. If your product contains synthetic ingredients but is marketed as ‘natural’, you could face legal consequences.
Specific legislation to review is the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act and the Federal Trade Commission Act. In particular, Section 5 of the FTC Act prohibits “unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce.”
Cosmetic Business highlights multiple cases of manufacturers investigated by the FTC for marketing products that contained some synthetic ingredients as ‘natural’.
For example, a sunscreen labeled ‘all natural’ and advertised as using “only the purest, most luxurious and effective ingredients found in nature” was deemed misleading.
The product contained at least 8% dimethicone, a synthetic silicone-based ingredient, which invalidated the “all natural” claim.
This serves as a clear warning: correctly label your products. Any ‘natural’ claims must be accurate, specific, and not exaggerated.
Plus, it’s food for thought over the types of products that can be realistically included in a natural cosmetics line.
As outlined in Personal Care Science, formulating sunscreen is notoriously difficult, and while you can formulate sunscreen that contains many natural ingredients, a 100% natural formula is virtually impossible.
Consider Clean Beauty As An Alternative
If delivering 100% natural cosmetics feels out of reach right now, don’t abandon your vision for more ethical or health-conscious beauty products.
Explore the possibility of creating a clean beauty line of cosmetics instead.
Clean beauty products are formulated without ingredients known or suspected to cause harm to human health or the environment.
Rather than requiring only natural or organic ingredients, it involves being more selective about which ingredients you choose to include, and more importantly, exclude, in formulas (such as avoiding parabens, phthalates, and sulfates).
For this reason, clean beauty is typically more straightforward to formulate relative to 100% natural or organic products.
At Innacos, we specialize in clean skincare and color cosmetics. Review our full private label catalog here or order samples of our products on our website here.
Complications with Natural Formulations
The introduction of the MoCRA Act in 2024 made formulating cosmetics at home even more difficult, and this is especially the case for ‘natural’ products. Learn more about how to comply with MoCRA in our full blog post here.
Here’s the reality: synthetic ingredients are often used for good reason.
A 2024 paper published in the Journal of Pharmacy highlights that synthetic preservatives are more effective than natural alternatives, which greatly helps extend the shelf life of your products.
The second major challenge is ingredient sourcing. Finding high-quality ingredients is difficult when you formulate yourself.
As explored in Vogue, opting for natural ingredients only makes the process that much harder. These ingredients tend to be more expensive and much more inconsistent in quality.
Despite these difficulties, consumers don’t make allowances for natural brands. They expect high-quality natural cosmetics that perform just like conventional alternatives - including long shelf lives and luxe textures.
That’s why working with a specialist natural cosmetics lab is so important, even for smaller beauty brands like yours. These labs employ trained chemists with professional qualifications and the expertise to formulate natural cosmetics correctly.
At Innacos, we are specialists in formulating clean, cruelty-free, vegan, and sustainable cosmetics. We also regularly formulate with natural cosmetic ingredients, including our entire range of natural colorants.
To find out more about our ability to formulate your desired line of natural cosmetics, please contact us at customerservice@innacos.com.
Finding The Best Natural Cosmetics Labs For Your Brand
While there are countless cosmetics labs out there, finding one that can reliably formulate natural skincare and makeup requires deeper research and more selective vetting.
You’re not only assessing the lab’s professionalism, ingredient and product quality, price, and speed, you’re also adding the additional requirement of offering natural ingredients.
We’ve explored how to vet potential cosmetics labs many times in previous posts (check out our blog post on finding the best personal care manufacturers here), but natural ingredients make the process a bit more complex.
So, what additional attributes do you need to consider?
1. Natural Cosmetics Standards
First, you need to contact your shortlisted labs and ask for as much detail as possible about their ‘natural’ formulation standards. Key questions to ask include:
How do you define ‘natural’ cosmetics at your business?
Do you offer 100% natural formulations? Or just formulations made using some natural ingredients?
Where do you source your natural ingredients? How do you ensure consistent quality? Do you consider the ethical aspects, labor rights, and fair trade?
Can you formulate to meet any third-party standards (for example, COSMOS)
2. Cosmetics Lab Location
Additionally, choosing domestic labs becomes even more important when you formulate natural cosmetics.
Every jurisdiction has a different legal standard for ‘natural’, and if you want to sell on the US market, it’s a lot easier to comply with local expectations and regulatory standards when you formulate with US-based professional natural cosmetics labs.
At Innacos, we are proudly based in the US and conduct all of our manufacturing domestically. Learn more about working with Innacos on our website here.
3. Manufacturing Options
Finally, consider the full range of manufacturing options offered by each lab on your shortlist. Some labs only provide preformulated products, and when you audit their ingredient lists, they actually contain many synthetic additives.
Evaluate your options carefully. The more flexibility the lab offers, the more scalable your brand will become.
Do they provide:
Preformulated natural beauty products (bulk and private label)
Custom product creation
Custom formulated products
Full service contract manufacturing for custom formulas
Keep in mind, if you opt for preformulated products, always analyze the full ingredients list for each product carefully.
You’ll need to determine just how “natural” each product really is to ensure your product claims remain accurate and FTC-compliant.
At Innacos, we aim to provide as much flexibility and choice for our clients as possible.
We offer a full spectrum of manufacturing options, from private label and bulk to custom product creation, and custom formulating and contract manufacturing services. Learn more about all of the manufacturing options at Innacos and find the right pick for you on our website here.
In sum, finding the right natural cosmetics lab involves the following key steps:
Gaining an understanding of what natural means and how it differs from ‘organic’ and ‘clean’.
Recognizing the difficulties of formulating truly natural products, including the risk of legal issues for misleading claims
Evaluating potential labs not only for quality, professionalism, and pricing, but also alignment with your brand’s natural values.
Assessing each potential lab’s definition of “natural”, ingredient sourcing standards, location, and manufacturing capabilities to ensure the best long-term fit.
Looking to create natural cosmetics with a professional beauty lab? Learn more about how Innacos can provide products using natural ingredients by calling: (812) 329-1105 or emailing: customerservice@innacos.com.
