The beauty product industry is one of the most profitable and competitive consumer-oriented industries. However, the industry is not without its issues and problems. There are many beauty care trends that are harmful to the environment, to animals, and to the person wearing the actual beauty care products. This is why you must have all the beauty and personal care product information for any items that you plan to sell.

There are many different sources of beauty care information out there: magazines, industry research, scholarly journal publications and watchdog organizations. These organizations help consumers and retailers understand the following:

1. Testing methods. (Which tests ensure product safety?)
2. Chemical composition. (What personal care product resources provide information about chemical composition?)
3. Natural and organic alternatives. (What beauty industry trends lead toward natural and organic alternatives?)

In general, this beauty product information forms a body of knowledge about a wide range of beauty care products. This information is easily available online if you are looking to sell products. It is also beneficial if your business provides personal care product resources, skin care product information, and/or information about beauty products.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Know what you are looking for; start with educational beauty product resources

As you research, realize that there is a lot of information about personal care products available. It is helpful to look around and understand the key pieces of research and current news found on beauty and personal care product information websites.

I recommend: Look at websites that provide information about "green" products in the beauty product industry. The National Geographic Society website has a Green Guide that lists a dozen ingredients in personal care products that are particularly harmful. Of course, as a green website, they have a certain point of view that any non-natural chemicals can be harmful. However, they have done the research, and websites like National Geographic Society are more reputable than others. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) features a comprehensive list of companies that do and do not test on animals.

Consult the trusted names in beauty care resources

There are a number of consumer watchdog organizations that do nothing but test products and try to find which are helpful and which are harmful. These organizations are usually more mainstream than eco/green sources. This can be a good thing because they tend to be more credible, but may also be a detriment if they do not consider all of the issues.

I recommend: Consumer Reports is a trusted name for general consumer product reviews. They also do personal care product reviews. Many of these reports center on how well the product performs, but they do consider safety. Also, the website ExpoTV has a number of non-biased beauty and personal care product information tips.

Subscribe to beauty product information blogs

The blogosphere gets mixed reviews as a work of journalism, but people will always like to complain. Blogs about the beauty product industry are no exception. By visiting blogs regularly, you can keep up-to-date on what your customers are saying about different products and what they like and dislike about them.

I recommend: Create a list of popular blogs that contain tips and information about the beauty and personal care product information industry. I am Fashion is a very credible blog, while Apparel Search Company has a list of fashion related blogs. Take what they say with a grain of salt, but if you see several blogs comment about certain products, take those comments seriously.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Not all beauty products are harmful. Even the most basic beauty care information search will turn up hundreds of safe products. The unsafe products, though, get all the press.
• •  Check various makers of beauty products for beauty product resources and press releases. Again, they will have an agenda, but it is a good place to start doing research.
• •  There are many sources of beauty and personal care product information. If you want to sell it yourself, you need to have a unique angle.