Certification & Standards

We'd Rather Show You Than Tell You

Living skincare, to us, means a formula's claims should be as alive and provable as its ingredients — so instead of asking you to trust an adjective, here is the structured, verifiable standard every Valen Sey product is held to.

Certification levels can vary slightly by individual formula (for example, not every product reaches COSMOS Organic thresholds — some qualify at the COSMOS Natural level instead). Always check the "Certification" tab on the specific product page for that product's exact standing — we list it there, ingredient by ingredient, not just as a badge.

The Standards Behind Every Product

Certification / Standard	Issuing Body	What It Verifies	Applies At
COSMOS Natural / COSMOS Organic	ECOCERT Greenlife	Confirms 95–100% natural-origin ingredients (Natural tier), or a minimum organic-content threshold (Organic tier), verified by third-party audit	Product formula level — varies by product
GMP — ISO 22716:2007	International Organization for Standardization	Certifies the manufacturing facility meets Good Manufacturing Practice: hygiene control, process consistency, batch traceability	Facility level
EU Cosmetics Regulation (EC) 1223/2009	European Union	Legal safety framework restricting or banning 1,300+ substances permitted in other markets; mandates ingredient disclosure (INCI) on every label	Regulatory baseline for all EU-manufactured products
Cruelty-Free Formulation	Formulation policy, EU testing ban	No animal testing on finished products or ingredients, in line with the EU's cosmetic animal-testing ban in force since 2013	Product formula level
Vegan Formulation	Formulation review	No animal-derived ingredients or by-products in the finished formula	Product formula level — check individual product listing
Paraben-Free / Gluten-Free / Nut-Free	Formulation review	Confirms absence of the named ingredient category in the finished formula	Product formula level — check individual product listing
B Corp Certification	B Lab	Independent verification of a company's social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency standards	Corporate/manufacturing-partner level

What "Natural Origin" Actually Means

When a product carries a Natural Origin 95%+ claim, it means at least 95% of the formula's ingredients, by weight, are derived from natural sources — plant extracts, minerals, water — rather than being fully synthesized. The remaining fraction typically covers preservation, texture, and stability agents needed to keep a natural formula safe and usable over its shelf life. This isn't our own internal scale — it's the ECOCERT COSMOS methodology, independently audited, the same standard referenced on the certification panel of the specific product you're viewing.

Why We Anchor to EU Regulation

The EU cosmetics regulatory framework is, by most independent comparisons, the strictest in the world by ingredient count — restricting or banning over 1,300 substances, compared to a much shorter list under US federal cosmetic law. Manufacturing under this framework isn't a marketing choice for us; it's the ground floor every formula is built on, regardless of which market it ultimately ships to.

Certification FAQ

What does ECOCERT COSMOS certification mean? COSMOS is a European cosmetics certification standard, audited by ECOCERT Greenlife, that verifies the proportion of natural and organic ingredients in a formula. "COSMOS Natural" requires a minimum 95% natural-origin content; "COSMOS Organic" additionally requires a minimum percentage of ingredients from certified organic farming.

Are Valen Sey products cruelty-free? Yes. Our formulas are not tested on animals, in line with the European Union's ban on cosmetic animal testing.

Is every product vegan? Most formulas are vegan, but not all — availability of the vegan claim is listed individually on each product page, since a small number of formulas may contain ingredients like beeswax or lanolin-derived compounds.

What does GMP ISO 22716:2007 certification cover? It certifies that the manufacturing facility itself — not just the formula — follows internationally recognised Good Manufacturing Practice: controlled hygiene, documented process control, and batch traceability, for cosmetic products specifically.

Is B Corp certification a product certification or a company certification? It's a company-level certification. B Corp status, issued by B Lab, verifies a company's overall social and environmental performance and governance transparency — it doesn't certify an individual formula the way COSMOS or GMP does, but it reflects the accountability standard of the manufacturing partners we work with.