Service

Laboratory testing for cosmetics.

Every safety report stands on lab data. We run the three tests that data comes from, microbiological, challenge and stability, through our accredited laboratory, and build the results straight into your CPSR. One partner from swab to signature, so nothing is tested twice and nothing is missing at assessment.

Reviewed by Cassandra Maddocks, chemist & biochemist · last reviewed 28 July 2026

We provide cosmetic microbiology testing, challenge testing (preservative efficacy, ISO 11930) and stability testing through our ISO 22716 and ISO 9001 certified, state-inspected laboratory. Every study is scoped to what your product actually needs and delivered as inputs to a signed safety report.

Microbiological testing

We enumerate the aerobic bacteria and yeast and mould in your finished product and screen for the specified pathogens, to the ISO methods and against the ISO 17516 limits. It confirms the product leaves production clean and free of organisms that pose a risk to the user.

Fast and inexpensive relative to the rest of the file, and rarely the bottleneck. Full method detail is in our microbiology testing guide.

Challenge testing (preservative efficacy)

We inoculate your product with reference organisms and track them over the 28-day ISO 11930 protocol to prove the preservative system controls what a consumer introduces in use. A pass is graded against Criteria A and B; a fail tells you to reformulate before you commit to a print run.

This is the test that catches a weak preservative system in the lab rather than on the shelf. The protocol and criteria are explained in our challenge testing guide.

Stability testing

We store your product under accelerated and real-time conditions and monitor pH, viscosity, colour, odour, appearance and microbiological quality across its shelf life, supporting the durability date or period-after-opening on the label. Accelerated studies run about three months; real-time studies cover the full claimed life.

Stability is the long pole in any launch calendar, so we start it early. The conditions and timings are detailed in our stability testing guide.

How does testing fit with the rest of my file?

The results become Part A data in the Cosmetic Product Safety Report and live in the Product Information File for ten years. Because we run the testing and produce the report, the two are scoped together: you never pay for a test the assessor did not need, and the assessor is never waiting on a result that was never commissioned.

That single-partner path is the whole point. It removes the gap where brands commission the wrong tests, or miss one, then discover it at assessment. The report side is our CPSR service; the input list is in the CPSR inputs guide.

What does testing cost?

It is quoted per product and per study, because scope varies with the formula: a simple anhydrous balm may skip the challenge test entirely, while a water-based cream needs the full set. We scope your range first and quote a fixed price before any work begins, with no open-ended lab bills.

Test data also reuses across markets, so a study done for the EU serves the UK and Swiss files and feeds US substantiation. For your own products, tell us what you are launching and where: request a quote.

Testing in depth

Read the method, then hand it over.

From swab to signature.

We test your product and sign the report that rests on it. Microbiology, challenge and stability testing, scoped and priced up front.