Manufacturing guide
Hair and scalp care: six formats, and what each one costs to start
Hair care runs on the same lines as our creams, lotions and liquids — the difference is tooling, pack and claim set. Below is every format we currently make, with the minimum order and lead time attached to the product page behind it, so a brand can pick the entry format on evidence rather than on a supplier's range list.
The formats we run
Hair mask cream (tube or sachet)
The workhorse format: a thick cream mask applied after shampooing, sold as a tube or a single-use sachet. It carries the heaviest formulation (butters, oils, keratin-type proteins) and is the format most brands open a hair line with, because the same formula can be sold in both pack sizes.
Nourishing hair mask (larger runs)
The same category at a lower unit cost, quoted from 5,000 units. This is the specification to move to once a brand has sell-through and wants a cheaper pack without changing the formula story.
Single-use steam cap
A cap that is worn over the hair and generates heat on its own, so no external steamer is needed. Tooling is specific to the cap, which is why the minimum is higher and the lead time longer — it is a packaging decision as much as a formula decision.
Self-heating mask
A mask that warms when applied, using the reaction between two phases in the pack. It reads as a treatment rather than a wash, and it is the format we point brands to when the retail story is the sensation rather than an ingredient.
Scalp oil (dropper bottle)
A light oil for the scalp rather than the lengths, sold with a dropper or a precision applicator. Bottle, dropper and label are all your artwork, and the essential-oil level is set to your market.
Leave-in serum / mist
The lightest format in the category: a hydrating leave-in serum or mist that needs no rinsing step, so it can sit next to a mask in the same range and reuse the same packaging family.
What you specify
- Format and pack — tube, sachet, cap, dropper bottle or mist; the pack usually sets the minimum more than the formula does.
- Active story — proteins, oils, peptides or botanical extracts, at a level you can name on the front of pack.
- Scalp or lengths — a scalp oil and a length mask are different use patterns, and the applicator decides how the product is used.
- Claim set and market — the wording you intend to print, because it determines what documentation your market will request and whether the timeline holds.
- Scent and feel — fragrance level, rinse-out versus leave-in, and the slip the product is expected to leave.
The plant and the paperwork
Hair masks and serums run as cream and lotion units, and oils and mists as general liquid units — both inside the certified production scope of the 3,886 m² GMPC cleanroom in Zhongshan, alongside 8 production lines and an in-house microbiology laboratory. The certificates carry their numbers: GMPC (SGS-issued ISO 22716 and US FDA CFSAN), the NMPA cosmetics production licence 粤妆20160335, and the amfori BSCI social audit.
Real formats from our catalogue
Organic Vegan Peptides Moisturizing Hair Growth Serum for Hair Regrowth & Scalp Massage
Men Hair Gel with Comb Wholesale
Private Label Flyaway Hair Stick
Hair Serum for Dry Hair
Rosemary Hair Growth Oil
Published products from our own line.
Buyer questions
What is the MOQ and lead time for hair and scalp care?▾
Mask creams, scalp oils and leave-in serums start at 1,000 units per SKU with an approx. 20 day production lead time after confirmation; the larger nourishing mask run and the single-use steam cap quote from 5,000 units with 45–60 days. Samples are produced in 3–7 days. The MOQ is per SKU and does not change by destination market.
Can the same formula be sold in two pack sizes?▾
Yes, and it is the usual way a hair line is built: one mask formula filled as a tube for the retail listing and as single-use sachets for travel or sampling. The fill weight and the pack are specified separately, so the two SKUs share one formula development.
Do you run the whole hair care range in-house?▾
The manufacturing is done on our own lines in the 3,886 m² GMPC cleanroom in Zhongshan: the certified production scope covers cream and lotion units, which is the unit hair masks and serums run on, plus the general liquid units used for oils and mists. Nothing in this category is subcontracted.
How are claim sets handled for hair products?▾
This is the question that decides the timeline, so it is worth settling before artwork. Wording such as moisturising, nourishing or colour-protecting sits inside cosmetic regulation in most markets; wording that implies a physiological effect — hair growth, treating hair loss — is treated as a medicinal claim in the EU, the US and most of Asia, and requires a different authorisation path that we do not hold. We produce the cosmetic product and the documentation behind the cosmetic claim set; where a brand wants stronger wording, the claim is theirs to clear with their own regulatory advisor for their market.
What documentation comes with a hair care order?▾
Stability and microbiological test reports per SKU, MSDS, COA and the full INCI list, plus the transport classification reports for the shipping mode chosen. GMPC, ISO 22716 and the US FDA facility registration are published with their certificate numbers on our certifications page.
Send the format, the pack and the market you are selling into — you will get the fill weight options, MOQ, lead time and the documentation list back, together with samples of the mask base or the oil if you want to feel them first.