This must show the business name of the company and a way to contact it (phone number, email address, postal address, etc.). The purpose of this is to ensure that if any consumer has a question, comment or complaint about the product, they can easily contact the responsible body.

The labelling shall show the contents at the time of packaging by weight or volume, in grams or millilitres respectively. Except for packages containing less than 5 grams or 5 millilitres, free samples and single doses.

For products which are normally marketed in sets of units and for which the indication of weight or volume is not significant, the contents need not be indicated, provided that the number of units is mentioned on the packaging.

What does the symbol “e” accompanying the contents mean?

The symbol “e” is a CE (Conformité Européenne) sign indicating that the packaging is made according to a statistical control of effective content established in the Royal Decree 1801/2008. This sign is not compulsory, however, many cosmetic products include it because this control guarantees the veracity and transparency of the quantity of product contained in the cosmetic.

The list of ingredients may only be indicated on the packaging and shall be preceded by the word “ingredients”. Ingredients shall be listed in INCI (International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients) nomenclature and in descending order, for concentrations lower than 1% they may be listed in no order after those with a concentration higher than 1%.

Other requirements for the listing of ingredients are:

Perfuming and aromatic compounds as well as their raw materials shall be mentioned with the terms “parfum” or “aroma”.

Nanomaterials shall be clearly indicated in the list of ingredients and shall be followed by the term “nano” in brackets.

For decorative cosmetic products marketed in different colour shades, all colouring agents used in the range may be mentioned, provided that the words “may contain” or the symbol “+/-” are added.

The date until which a cosmetic product, stored under appropriate conditions, continues to fulfil its initial function.

The date of minimum durability shall be preceded by an hourglass symbol, an open jar or the words ‘best used before…’.

Where a cosmetic product has a minimum durability of more than 30 months, it is not mandatory to indicate the date of minimum durability. The PAO (Period After Opening) indicating the period after opening in which the product is safe shall be indicated.

It is understood that some products may not require any of this information either because the product will not deteriorate in normal use or because of some other issue considered by the product assessor, which is where this decision lies. This would be the case, for example, for some aerosols, because being effectively sealed they do not require it, or perfumes, given their high alcohol content which ensures the stability of the formula, or single-use products such as samplers or samples.

The labelling shall contain the particular precautions for use to ensure its correct and safe use, in addition to the specific warnings related to the ingredients contained in the Cosmetic Products Regulation.

A number assigned after the production of a product to enable traceability (its ingredients, where it was made, who made it, etc.). This reference number means any detail relating to products on the market can be identified, and is essential for inspection, claims and/or incidents.

It is compulsory to include a description of what the cosmetic product is, or its function, unless this is obvious and understandable for the average consumer, whether due to its appearance or for some other reason.

In general, labelling information for cosmetic products will go on the main packaging, or if they are contained in a box, the information will go on the outer labelling to let consumers see the information.

However, when the product packaging is very small and it is difficult to include all the information on the label, it may be presented as a booklet attached to the product, or shown close to the products at the point of sale. The availability of additional information is indicated by the symbol ______.

In Europe, all companies are legally obliged to recover and recycle the packaging of the products they place on the market.

As for how to meet these obligations, the law allows for this to be done individually or through collective systems.

In Spain, Ecoembes and Ecovidrio are the non-profit organisations set up to give household packaging a second life. The “green dot” symbol indicates that the manufacturer is complying with current legislation.

This is a voluntary symbol which, if it appears without any additional indication, means that the product is made of materials that can be recycled. If a number with a percentage appears inside it, this information indicates the amount of recycled material contained in the packaging.

This voluntary symbol encourages us to dispose of waste appropriately and to look after the environment.

These symbols indicate the source materials of plastic packaging: PET or PETE (polyethylene terephthalate), HDPE (high-density polyethylene), V or PVC (vinyl or polyvinyl chloride), LDPE (low-density polyethylene), PP (polypropylene), PS (polystyrene) and others, including several types of hard-to-recycle plastic.

The presence of the UVA symbol assures us that the product also protects against this type of radiation. UVA rays play a minimal role in sunburn, their effects are not immediately visible, yet they penetrate the inner layers of the skin, damaging cells with effects that can manifest themselves in the long term.

Both UVA and UVB rays are considered risk factors that can cause cancer.

The Sun Protection Factor (SPF) is an indication of the amount of protection the product provides against sunburn, which is mainly caused by UVB rays. The higher the SPF, the greater the protection.

Sun protection factor is an indication of the protection a product provides against sunburn-causing solar radiation (mainly UVB rays).

SPF values range from 6 to 50+, depending on the protection offered by the cosmetic product. These values will be accompanied by an indication of the type of protection: low, medium, high or very high.

The presence of the UVA symbol on a sun protection product indicates that the protection it offers against UVA rays is at least 1/3 of the sun protection factor.