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Guide
Is ordinary shampoo exported to China filed as ordinary cosmetics?
Yes. Ordinary shampoo exported to China is filed as an ordinary cosmetic when it is used to clean or care for hair and does not dye hair, perm hair or claim to prevent hair loss. For general-trade import of a finished product, complete the required filing or registration before import, appoint a Domestic Responsible Person, and apply a Chinese label that meets the Cosmetics Labeling Rules. Customs and inspection-quarantine formalities are a separate process. Cross-border e-commerce retail import is a different channel with list, platform and personal-use limits; it is not a blanket “no filing” rule and not a path to unrestricted domestic resale. Testing and ordinary cosmetics filing may proceed in parallel. The ordinary filing cycle is about 10–20 days in total, depending on completeness and supplementary requests. That timing applies only to ordinary cosmetics filing, never to special cosmetics registration and not as a guaranteed import timeline.
How to judge the path
Anti-dandruff is a listed ordinary efficacy when it stays inside helping to reduce dandruff. Claims that the shampoo treats seborrheic dermatitis or kills fungi as a medicine leave the cosmetic category.
Colour-depositing shampoos are assessed as hair dye when they change hair colour. See colour-depositing shampoo.
Typical documents, tests and labels
Prepare an ordinary filing dossier, safety assessment and Chinese label. Surfactants and preservatives must meet the technical standards. Jinshang Testing organizes the compliance work. Testing is coordinated with partner laboratories, and those laboratories issue the reports they perform. After a record is issued, check it on the official NMPA filing query https://hzpba.nmpa.gov.cn/gccx/ and the NMPA data-search page https://datasearch.nmpa.gov.cn/datasearch/home-index.html#category=hzp.
Cautions
Children’s shampoo must stay inside the permitted children’s claim list. A “salon professional” description does not replace filing.
Questions we are often asked
Does 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner need two filings?
One product with one formula is generally one filing even if it has two hair-care functions. A kit of two separately used formulas is different.
Can a shampoo claim to prevent hair loss if I add vitamins?
No. An anti-hair-loss function requires special-cosmetics registration, regardless of vitamin marketing.
Next step
Discuss your China market path
Tell us whether you plan to import finished goods or manufacture in mainland China, and what the product claims. We will outline the likely filing or registration path. Testing, where needed, is arranged with partner laboratories.
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