While there are carrier regulations around shipping toiletries, shipping toiletries doesn’t have to be complicated. We’re going to cover the ins and outs of shipping toiletries including carrier-specific packaging guidelines and how ShippingEasy helps with the shipping process.
Table of Contents
- What are toiletries?
- Shipping toiletries with USPS
- Shipping toiletries with UPS
- Shipping toiletries with FedEx
- Tips for shipping toiletries
- How can ShippingEasy help?
What are toiletries?
For the sake of this blog, we’ll only be focusing on paste, cream, and liquid-based toiletries. Aerosol-based toiletries have different regulations and packaging needs, so we’ve included some resources below and recommend reaching out to your carrier directly with any additional questions you may have.
For more information on shipping liquids check out our blog, How to Ship Liquids: Rules to Know for USPS, UPS, and FedEx!
Shipping toiletries with USPS
When shipping toiletries with USPS, creams and pastes are considered to be non-hazardous liquids, meaning many of the guidelines for these toiletries are similar to shipping liquids. Creams, pastes, and liquids with push-down tops have to be mailed using a “strong and securely sealed outer packaging,” as these items can open in transit and potentially damage other shipments and USPS equipment.
If liquid toiletries weigh over four ounces and are in nonmetal containers and/or have push-down tops, your shipment must be triple-packaged. One of the layers in the packaging must include a material to potentially soak up the entire volume of liquid if it should spill.
Other guidelines include:
- Items with an “obnoxious odor” can’t be mailed
- Perfumes containing alcohol can be mailed domestically but not internationally or with air-based services.
Check out the complete list of prohibited, restricted, and non mailable items.
Shipping toiletries with UPS
UPS advises taking the temperature and the time your product will spend in transit under consideration. For example, if your product is going through hot or cold weather conditions, it might impact how your product arrives at its final destination. However, UPS currently doesn’t have restrictions for shipping these paste, cream, and or liquid-based toiletries domestically.*
*Note: The guidance above doesn’t include toiletries with regulated substances like CBD and/or hemp.
Shipping toiletries with FedEx
FedEx doesn’t provide many regulations for shipping paste and cream-based toiletries, so similar to USPS, we’re including their guidelines for shipping liquid-based products. When shipping liquid-based toiletries with FedEx, all products have to use four layers of packaging:
- Primary watertight inner receptacle
- Absorbent material
- Secondary watertight inner receptacle.
- Sturdy outer packaging
FedEx recommends packing all bottles upright to keep them from moving around in transit and potentially spilling. FedEx also allows for up to eight gallons of liquids within your shipment.
Learn how to ship hand sanitizer and other speciality liquids in our blog How to Ship Hand Sanitizer and Other Hazardous Items!
Tips for shipping toiletries
We’ve broken down the various carrier regulations, but here are a few additional tips for shipping toiletries:
- Label the inside and outside of shipments in case of spills
- Cover both addresses in tape to keep them legible
- Plastic baggies and other plastic, sealable inserts are recommended and extremely helpful in the case of leaks
How can ShippingEasy help?
The amount of packaging needed for shipping toiletries can seem overwhelming, but ShippingEasy users like The Soapie Shoppe have streamlined their process for shipping toiletries. Using features like our Manual Order uploads enable them to send samples of their products to customers with ease. Manual orders are added to your dashboard individually or through a CSV file. These uploads are a great way to quickly create orders and send toiletry samples like The Soapie Shoppe to treat your customers and showcase your new products.
Conclusion
Toiletries are one of the most commonly shipped items. Guidance from carriers like USPS and FedEx keep your products intact, and ShippingEasy’s manual order uploads provide a direct way to create labels for your products and samples.
For more information on shipping toiletries, check out our full case study with The Soapie Shoppe!
Baillee Perkins
