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Effective date: 4 September 2026
This page explains the requirements for listing beauty, skincare and cosmetic products on Bee Market. It summarises UK law and Bee Market rules so that listings are safe, lawful and clear for buyers. This guidance is not legal advice.
Guidance only (not legal advice). Laws and guidance can change. Sellers are solely responsible for ensuring that their products, labels, claims and listings comply with all applicable laws. Seek advice from Trading Standards, the Office for Product Safety and Standards, a qualified cosmetic safety assessor or a legal adviser if unsure.
Bee-related listings only. Beauty and skincare products must have a genuine connection to bees, beekeeping or hive ingredients, such as honey, beeswax, propolis or royal jelly. Bee Market may refuse, hide or remove any listing and may restrict or suspend selling access for repeated or serious breaches.
Cosmetic products are applied to the skin, hair, lips, teeth or nails mainly to clean, perfume, protect, condition, moisturise or change their appearance. Examples include creams, balms, body butters, soaps, lip balms, shampoos, conditioners, deodorants, bath products and make-up.
Products commonly covered by this policy:
• Honey, beeswax or propolis skin creams and balms.
• Handmade soaps, body washes and shaving products.
• Lip balms, body butters and moisturisers.
• Shampoo, conditioner and hair-treatment bars.
• Bath melts, bath salts and deodorants.
Pet grooming products are not automatically treated as human cosmetics. Products claiming to prevent, treat or cure a condition in people or animals may be medicines, veterinary medicines, biocidal products or medical devices and may require separate authorisation.
Before a cosmetic product is offered for sale, the Seller must ensure that all legal requirements applying to that product have been completed. Handmade, homemade, natural and small-batch cosmetics are not exempt.
Responsible Person: The product must have an appropriately established Responsible Person who is responsible for ensuring compliance with cosmetic product law.
Cosmetic Product Safety Report: A qualified cosmetic safety assessor must complete a Cosmetic Product Safety Report (CPSR) before the product is placed on the market.
Product Information File: An up-to-date Product Information File (PIF) must be maintained for the product and made available to the relevant authority when lawfully requested.
Product notification: Products made available to consumers in Great Britain must be notified through the UK Submit Cosmetic Product Notifications service before being placed on the market. Different arrangements apply in Northern Ireland.
Good Manufacturing Practice: Products must be manufactured under suitable, hygienic and controlled conditions in accordance with applicable cosmetic Good Manufacturing Practice requirements.
Important: A CPSR is a safety assessment. It is not government approval and does not automatically prove that every advertising or medical claim made about the product is lawful.
Official guidance: Making cosmetic products available in Great Britain · Submit a cosmetic product notification
Sellers reselling an established cosmetic brand must ensure that products are genuine, lawfully sourced, intended for the UK market and supplied in their original compliant packaging. Sellers must retain sufficient supplier and purchase records to establish where products came from.
Do not open, decant, dilute, repackage, relabel or alter a cosmetic product unless you are legally permitted to do so and have completed any resulting Responsible Person, safety assessment, notification and labelling obligations.
Original sealed product? It may be resold if genuine and compliant.
Decanted or relabelled? Additional legal responsibilities may apply.
Tester or opened cosmetic? Do not list it for sale on Bee Market.
Cosmetic products must carry the information required by the law applying in the market where they are sold. Required information must be visible, legible and indelible. Where required, information must appear in English.
Responsible Person: The name and address of the Responsible Person.
Country of origin: Required where the cosmetic product is imported, subject to applicable UK rules.
Net contents: The nominal weight or volume, except where a legal exception applies.
Durability: A minimum durability date or Period After Opening symbol, where applicable.
Precautions: Any required warnings, restrictions and instructions for safe use.
Batch identification: A batch number or another reference allowing the product to be traced.
Product function: What the product is used for, unless this is already obvious from its presentation.
Ingredients: A complete ingredient list using the applicable cosmetic ingredient names, normally headed “Ingredients”.
Honey Shampoo Bar 80 g • Batch: HSB2604 • 12M Massage onto wet hair and rinse thoroughly. Avoid contact with eyes. For external use only. Responsible Person: Business name and postal address. Ingredients: full compliant cosmetic ingredient list.
See the official GOV.UK cosmetic product information guidance.
Listing titles, descriptions, photographs and labels must be truthful, clear and supported by appropriate evidence. Sellers must not claim or imply that a cosmetic product has a characteristic or function that it does not have.
Acceptable claims must still be truthful, accurate and supported by appropriate evidence. The examples below are general guidance only.
Moisturises dry skin.
Treats eczema or psoriasis.
Suitable for dry and sensitive-feeling skin.
Cures sensitive skin conditions.
Helps soothe dry-feeling skin.
Relieves inflamed or painful skin.
Helps protect the skin from dryness.
Protects the skin from infection.
Leaves skin feeling soft and smooth.
Repairs damaged skin tissue.
Helps maintain the skin’s natural moisture barrier.
Restores or changes the body’s immune response.
Moisturises skin after sun exposure.
Treats burns or heals sunburn.
Cools and refreshes sun-exposed skin.
Reduces inflammation caused by sunburn.
Helps improve the appearance of fine lines.
Permanently removes wrinkles.
Helps improve the appearance of the skin.
Reverses or prevents the ageing process.
Helps improve the appearance of existing scars.
Prevents scarring or heals scars.
Suitable for blemish-prone skin.
Treats or cures acne.
Helps cleanse excess oil and impurities from the skin.
Eliminates acne-causing bacteria.
Gently cleanses the skin.
Disinfects wounds, cuts or broken skin.
Helps cleanse and refresh the skin.
Prevents bacterial or viral infections.
Leaves hands feeling clean and refreshed.
Kills 99.9% of bacteria without appropriate authorisation and evidence.
Helps condition chapped-feeling hands.
Heals cracked, bleeding or injured hands.
Provides gentle cosmetic exfoliation.
Removes diseased or damaged skin.
Leaves lips feeling soft and moisturised.
Treats cold sores or infected lips.
Helps protect lips from dryness.
Heals split or wounded lips.
Cleanses and conditions the hair and scalp.
Treats dandruff, dermatitis or scalp disease.
Helps hair look fuller and healthier.
Treats hair loss or causes new hair growth.
Helps reduce the appearance of frizz.
Repairs the biological structure of damaged hair.
Helps control body odour.
Prevents or treats excessive sweating as a medical condition.
Leaves the body feeling refreshed.
Relieves fatigue, stress or anxiety.
Provides a warming or cooling sensation during massage.
Relieves arthritis, joint pain or muscle injuries.
Helps relax the body through massage.
Treats pain, stiffness or restricted mobility.
Suitable for use as part of a cosmetic skincare routine.
Recommended as a remedy for a medical condition.
Dermatologically tested, where supported by appropriate evidence.
Dermatologist approved, unless genuine approval can be demonstrated.
Clinically tested, where a relevant clinical test was completed.
Clinically proven, unless strong evidence proves the exact claim.
Made with naturally derived ingredients, where accurate.
Chemical-free, toxin-free or completely risk-free.
Suitable for sensitive-feeling skin, where supported by evidence.
Guaranteed not to cause irritation or allergic reactions.
Claims that a product prevents, treats or cures an injury or medical condition may cause it to be regulated as a medicinal product. Such claims must not be used unless the product has the necessary authorisation and the particular claim is lawfully permitted.
Expressions such as “moisturising treatment” or “conditioning treatment” may be used where they clearly describe cosmetic care. They must not be presented as treatment for a disease, injury or medical condition.
Official references: Cosmetic Products Regulation guidance · MHRA guidance on medicinal products
Safe products only: Do not list cosmetics that are unsafe, contaminated, recalled, expired, counterfeit or prohibited from sale in the UK.
Original condition: Cosmetics must be unused, hygienic and supplied in appropriate packaging. Opened, partly used, decanted or tester cosmetics must not be listed.
Traceability: Sellers must retain appropriate batch, manufacturing and supplier records and cooperate with legitimate product-safety enquiries.
Safety concerns: Sellers must immediately notify Bee Market of a recall, investigation, serious adverse reaction or other material safety concern affecting a listed product.
Bee ingredients: Products containing honey, beeswax, propolis, royal jelly or related ingredients must carry any warnings required by the product’s safety assessment.
Where appropriate, cosmetic products should use a hygiene or tamper-evident seal. Sellers must follow Bee Market’s Returns and Refunds Policy and all applicable consumer rights.
The statutory cancellation right may not apply to sealed goods that are unsuitable for return for health protection or hygiene reasons after the seal has been broken following delivery. This exception does not remove a buyer’s statutory rights where a product is faulty, unsafe, damaged or not as described.
Returned cosmetics that have been opened, used, contaminated or had their hygiene seal broken must not be resold.
Opened or used cosmetic? Do not resell it.
Unopened and sealed? Follow the selected return policy and UK law.
Faulty or unsafe? Statutory consumer rights continue to apply.
Products must be securely closed and packaged to prevent leakage, contamination, tampering or damage during transport. Follow all carrier restrictions that apply to liquids, aerosols, alcohol-based products, fragrances, essential oils or other restricted substances.
Cosmetics must be stored and transported under conditions that do not compromise their safety, stability, quality or required shelf life.
The Seller is solely responsible for the safety, legality, formulation, manufacture, notification, labelling, claims, packaging and supply of every beauty or skincare product they list.
Bee Market is an independent marketplace and does not manufacture, test, assess, approve or certify products listed by independent Sellers. Bee Market may request information, remove a listing, restrict selling access or suspend an account where it reasonably suspects a safety, legal or policy concern.
Seller declaration
By listing a product in Beauty & Skincare, you confirm that it complies with all applicable UK cosmetic and product safety regulations.
Key sources: GOV.UK: making cosmetics available in Great Britain · GOV.UK: submit a cosmetic product notification · Submit Cosmetic Product Notifications service · GOV.UK: consumer products—cosmetics · UK Cosmetic Products Regulation guidance · Cosmetic Products Enforcement Regulations 2013 · MHRA: guide to medicinal products · GOV.UK: product safety advice for businesses · Consumer Contracts Regulations, regulation 28