Health and Beauty is another high-demand gated category on Amazon UK with strong repeat purchase potential. Customers regularly reorder skincare, haircare, vitamins, and personal care products, making it attractive for building consistent revenue. The category also tends to have good margins compared to media or general merchandise. But the compliance requirements are significant.
Getting Ungated
Amazon requires invoices from authorised suppliers to approve you for Health and Beauty. The products on your invoices must match the specific subcategories you want to sell in. Some subcategories within Health and Beauty are easier to get approved for than others — start with less restrictive subcategories and expand once you have established a track record.
Regulatory Compliance
Cosmetic products sold in the UK must comply with UK cosmetics regulations (derived from the EU Cosmetics Regulation). This includes having a responsible person based in the UK or EU, maintaining a product information file, ensuring correct labelling with ingredients (using INCI names), batch numbers, and period-after-opening symbols. If you are the manufacturer or importer, these obligations fall on you. If you are reselling branded products from authorised UK distributors, the manufacturer has typically handled compliance.
Products making health claims (vitamins, supplements, anything claiming to treat or prevent conditions) face additional regulatory scrutiny. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) governs what can and cannot be sold as a consumer product versus a medicine. Selling products that make unauthorised health claims can result in serious legal consequences.
Prep Considerations
Many Health and Beauty products are classified as hazmat (hazardous materials) by Amazon due to their ingredients — aerosols, products containing alcohol, nail polish, perfumes, and similar items all fall under dangerous goods regulations. These products require additional documentation (Safety Data Sheets) and are subject to specific shipping and labelling requirements. Check whether your products are classified as hazmat before committing to a large purchase.
Liquid products need extra care during prep. Ensure caps are secure, consider adding additional sealing (heat shrink or tape over caps), and use poly bags to contain any leaks. A single leaking bottle can damage your entire shipment and create problems at Amazon's fulfilment centre.