How to Design the Right Skincare Packaging: Customers Want to Buy

Last Updated on April 10, 2023 by Packoi Team

You need to design packaging in such a way that’ll make your customers want to get your product.

How can you do that? You can answer that question by reading on.

This article will give you clues on how to design the right packaging for your ideal customers. You’ll learn about skincare packaging design and how to make your product stand out in a competitive market.

8 Steps to Design a Salable Skincare Cosmetics Packaging

The cosmetic packaging design process is straightforward but will require you to go through many steps.

The thing about a skincare packaging design is it’s not just meant to be visually appealing. It also has to be informative. It has to follow certain rules and regulations set by the law.

Whether you’re selling online or through a physical store, being a beauty brand means you’re responsible for the safety of your customers. That means designing packaging that’ll help them make informed decisions about your skincare products.

If you want to create the best packaging design for your skincare products, here are the 8 steps that you have to go through.

Get Clues From Your Ideal Buyer

When designing product packaging for the cosmetics industry, starting with your ideal customer is always best. Find out important details about your target audience. Things like their age range, gender, socioeconomic status, and other personal preferences. 

The information you’ll gather will help you create product packaging that resonates with them. At the very least, you want to capture their interest so they’ll be intrigued enough to want to take a closer look and pick up your product.

The goal is to use the packaging to convince your customer that they should use your skincare products. It’s not just about getting one sale off this interaction. You should aim to earn their trust so they’ll be convinced that your cosmetic brand can be trusted.

That’s the type of packaging that you should design. And the only way to make that happen is if you have a deep understanding of your market.

Consider What Your Product Needs

As you keep your customers in mind, it’s time to look at the product itself. What does your skincare product need?

The process of designing cosmetic packaging should revolve around the product. Would your product require a glass container, a metal can, or a plastic tube? The actual product container’s job is to protect the product’s integrity. It should keep light, moisture, and other contaminants away from it.

Your product mustn’t be compromised in any way because that could result in an allergic reaction. That could quickly lead to a lot of problems for your brand.

Once you’ve settled on the product packaging, look at the inner packaging. What do you need to protect the container of your product? Will tissue paper suffice in protecting it? Or do you need bubble wrap? Should you include a molded tray as part of the inner packaging to keep your product from moving about?

Then, you need to think about the outer packaging. This is the first thing that people will see. It has to be both visually appealing and informative as well.

If you’re selling online, the outer packaging will also be responsible for protecting the product from damage. Make sure it’s sturdy so your customers will get the product in one piece.

Know the Latest Trends

With a firm idea of what your customer and product need, it’s time to do some research. What are the latest cosmetics packaging trends in the market?

Look at your competitors in the cosmetics industry. How are other skincare companies packaging their products?

This isn’t done so you can copy what’s already being done in the market. It’s more to give you clues on how you can make your product packaging stand out when put beside the competitor packaging.

Sometimes, your competitors may have revolutionary ideas that you can use as inspiration. Take different ideas and create something new that’s unique to your cosmetic brand.

You can also look at what designers and experts are saying. Usually, there are design forecasts and trends published online. You might want to pay attention to these so you can be the first to use innovative packaging solutions.

Put Together a Brand Mood Board

At this point, you have what you need to put together a mood board. This is a collection of images, colors, patterns, and other inspirational materials that you think should go into your product packaging design.

With all the information on your product, customers, and new trends, it’s time to inject your branding into everything. With what you know about what the customers want, what the product needs, and the latest trends, choose the design elements that’ll identify the product to your cosmetics brand.

This is also when you’ll decide on what visual design to use to make your product appealing. Choose a design that represents your product’s theme and something your customers can relate to.

You want to be thorough with your mood board because this can also be used as a reference for the marketing campaigns that’ll be used to promote your skincare products. It’ll help you identify how to present everything on social media platforms and other sales channels.

Pick Sustainable Packaging Materials

Sustainability is a huge deal right now. So, to impress your target audience, you might want to pick sustainable materials for your skincare packaging.

If you think that’ll limit your options, it won’t. With the popularity of eco-friendly advocacies, many suppliers ensure they provide enough sustainable packaging – including cosmetics.

You don’t have to limit yourself to corrugated cardboard. Innovations are being made to improve every cosmetics packaging material.

Even if plastic is the best packaging for your skincare products, it’s okay. There are a lot of bio-based plastics available for you to choose from.

You just have to research to ensure you’re getting the best options. Keep an eye on the latest trends because new sustainable material is always being tested in the market. It might end up being the perfect packaging solution for your skincare line.

Create the Content (Including Those Required By Law)

The content in your cosmetic packaging design is very important. Skincare is one of the sensitive products with many rules and restrictions around it – and you have to abide by every single one.

This is why you must be careful with the information you’ll put on your cosmetics label. It has to be completed for several reasons.

First, it’ll help customers trust your cosmetics brand.

Second, it’ll allow you to comply with industry standards.

Third, it’ll give your customers what they need to decide if your product is safe for them to use.

Given all these reasons, you must ensure that your product packaging has the following information.

• Your branding. This should be prominent and visible in your packaging. The customer should be able to see, not just the product name, but also the brand that created it for them. This will help build the reputation of your brand. If your customers like the product, they’ll be more inclined to patronize other products under your brand’s name.
• The product ingredients. This is very important. You have to be very transparent with the list of ingredients that you use in your product so customers will know if the product will trigger their allergies. Make sure you put names that your customers can understand. Don’t give them some vague scientific name that’ll confuse them.
• The net quantity. This is required because it tells customers how much they’ll get for their price. It’ll help them compare your product with other brands. This is one of the things required by the law that you should comply with.
• The instructions and function. This information will help customers use the product safely. Apart from the ingredients, this will also ensure that skin care products will give customers the promised results. Usually, this information is lengthy. If it won’t fit the space provided by the packaging, it can be printed and added as an insert to be read after opening the product.
• The warning. This will again require you to be transparent about your product. It’ll warn customers about reactions that they may get if they don’t use the product properly. This is also a chance to list any ingredients that commonly trigger allergic reactions like nuts, etc.

Print and Put a Mock Up Together

Now that you have the important design elements, it’s time to put them together to see how they look. It’s important to create packaging design mock-ups before you get in touch with a packaging supplier. This will help you check if the cosmetics packaging design is the one that you envisioned.

Compare it with the mood board that you created early on. Did it come out according to your plan? Whether it comes out better or not, keep doing the mock-up until you’re satisfied with what you see.

Sure, some packaging suppliers offer mock-ups as part of their service, but they won’t give it for free – or at least, they’ll only give you one. The rest will have to be paid for.

If you aren’t sure about your design, do the mock-up yourself.

Choose a Packaging Company

After you’re happy with your mock-up, it’s time to talk to your product packaging supplier. Make sure you research 3 or more suppliers so you can compare them.

It would be ideal to work with packaging suppliers who have clients from the cosmetic industry. They would know have the basic knowledge of what skincare products need. They may even have available design packaging templates that you can choose from.

This could make the design process faster.

You might also want to choose a supplier who follows eco-friendly practices. Look for certification to make sure the company is trustworthy.

Once you’ve chosen the right packaging company, ask them for a quotation. If it fits your budget, then you can go ahead and give them the packaging design so they can put it into production.

5 Important Features of Skincare Product Packaging

When you design skincare packaging, it’s important to remember that functionality beats aesthetics in every way. Just like every other cosmetic packaging design, skincare products must adhere to specific rules and regulations before they can be approved for sale.

Missing just one important feature in the packaging can compromise the integrity of the product. This can lead to contamination that can cause an allergic reaction when a customer uses the product on their body.

You don’t want that to happen to your brand. 

So if you want to create the best packaging designs for your skincare products, make sure you do your research and implement these important features.

It Should Block the Light

One of the first things to consider is the light-blocking ability of the product packaging design. Some products have ingredients like essential oils that easily break down when exposed to too much light. If you want the protect the integrity of the product, choose a packaging or container that’s tinted.

You might want the outer packaging to have the same light-blocking abilities as well. Make sure that if the product gets exposed to Sunlight while in transit, it won’t be compromised.

It Should Be Acid-Resistant

Some cosmetic product formulations include acidic ingredients from fruit extracts, etc. These are formulated to be safe for the human skin – under the right conditions.

If your product contains such ingredients, make sure your cosmetic packaging design is acid-resistant. You can still use materials like metal tins, but ensure it has a protective barrier to keep your product from corroding.

It Should Be Easy to Use

Skincare products are used differently. Some are applied on dry skin, while others require wet skin before application. In both instances, you need a specific type of container to make dispensing the product easier.

You can use spray bottles, glass containers, or squeezable tubes. There are also more efficient airless pump dispensers.

Put yourself in the shoes of your ideal customer. Think about how they use your product to give you an idea of what your cosmetics packaging design should look like.

It Should Be BPA-Free

A BPA-free material means it doesn’t use any Bisphenol-A (BPA). This organic compound was previously used in creating plastic products like plates, cutlery, containers, and baby bottles.

Using BPA has been proven to be hazardous to health – specifically to children’s brains and prostate glands.

Because of this discovery, it should be a good idea to choose the right packaging material that’s BPA-free as well. Make sure your cosmetic packaging design shows that you used a BPA-free material so people will know it’s safe.

It Should Be Eco-Friendly

We’ve mentioned that sustainability is a huge deal nowadays. That means eco-friendly design elements are one of the must-have features of your packaging.

Choose a cosmetics packaging design that uses sustainable materials. Do this for both the outer and inner packaging of your skincare products.

Use glass or metal tins because these can be recycled indefinitely. You can also choose paper-based materials that are responsibly sourced from FSC-certified forests.

An easy way to be eco-friendly is to choose FSC-certified packaging. These are made by companies that adhere to strict sustainability standards and environmentally-friendly practices.

How to Design the Label of Your Cosmetic Packaging

The cosmetic packaging design process includes labeling your beauty products. Cosmetic labeling allows you to provide the information that your ideal customers need to make a buying decision about your product.

Not only that, the label adds to the visual appeal of your cosmetics packaging. With the right design, you can catch the consumer’s eye even in a crowded marketplace. Even if you’re selling products through online stores, a visually appealing label can make anyone stop scrolling to click on your product.

The question is, how can you create a label that will make your customers want to buy your skincare products?

Make It Consistent with the Brand Image

No matter what theme you choose for your outer packaging, make sure your brand identity is evident in it.

Your cosmetics packaging design should include your brand logo and name. You can choose to use the same colors and font – but only if it fits the image you want the product to have.

This is because your loyal customers can notice this product is part of your cosmetics skincare line. If they’ve trusted your brand for your other products, getting them to use a new product should also be easier.

Make sure your label is designed to make the connection easier.

Make It Discoloration-Proof

Since some skincare products use acid as a part of their composition, you have to make your labels resistant to discoloration.

Although the label’s not directly in contact with the product, there are times when it could drip when the customer is using it. This is why cosmetic companies choose a label that won’t degrade easily when mixed with the product.

This ensures that the information on your cosmetics packaging label will stay intact.

Make It Oil Repellent

Oil is another thing that skincare brands use. So if your cosmetic products have this, ensure your cosmetics labels are oil-resistant.

After all, customers end up handling the product container after they put your product in their hands. That means the labels will get greasy and hard to hold.

Don’t let this be a problem for your customers. When you talk to your supplier, be specific in asking for an oil-resistant cosmetics packaging label.

Make It Water-Resistant

Finally, you have to make your cosmetics labels water-resistant.  A lot of beauty products for skin care are usually stored in bathroom cabinets. That means you should use a label that won’t easily peel off or get soggy when they get wet.

The cosmetics packaging might lose important information that the customer might need while they’re using the product. Not to mention it’s not impressive if the labels are peeling off when the customer handles it.

Do You Need Help Designing Skincare Cosmetic Packaging? Packoi Printing Can Help.

Designing packaging for your skincare cosmetics line is tricky. The process is just like any other packaging for products – but there are a lot of rules and regulations to take into consideration. That’s because the product will be in direct contact with the human skin.

Special precautionary measures are required.

But if you partner with the right packaging supplier, you might find the whole process easier.

This is what you can experience when you work with Packoi Printing. We can help you design the perfect skincare packaging while being eco-friendly about it.

Get to know more about our services by calling us. We can give you a fair quotation in no time.