Amber Plastic Bottle, White Lotion Pump, 30 ml

An amber plastic medicine bottle with a capacity of 30 ml and a white lotion pump is ready-to-use packaging for creams, serums and gels that are dispensed in small amounts without scooping with your fingers. The amber tint of the PET bottle dampens light, so contents with more sensitive ingredients are exposed to it less than in clear packaging. PET is light and unbreakable, so the set is also suitable for travel packs, customer samples or test batches.

The pump screws onto the neck of the bottle. When you press the pump head, it draws the contents up through a tube from the bottom and pushes them out. The set is declared as suitable for contact with cosmetic products. The amber bottle on its own has a food-contact certificate, but the pump does not, so the set as a whole is intended for cosmetics.

What the set is suitable for

• Face and eye creams – a small dose per press suits products that are applied in a thin layer and for which 30 ml is a common pack size.
• Serums and gel formulations – a thicker serum or gel is dispensed precisely and the contents do not touch your hands, which helps keep them free from contamination for longer.
• Hand creams and topical preparations – for a handbag or for travel, where the low weight of the plastic is useful.
• Samples and test batches – when developing a formulation, a measured amount is filled into a small bottle and the behaviour of the emulsion is observed in the actual packaging.

How the pump works

One press of the pump head dispenses approximately 0.14 ml of the contents. After fitting the pump for the first time, press the head several times without product until the tube and the mechanism fill. The pump is not an airless system. Air is drawn into the bottle with each press, so a formulation with a water phase needs a preservative, just as in any other open packaging.

The lotion pump is designed for thicker textures. Very thin contents, for example water-based toners or liquid oils, may drip from the head and the dose will not be accurate. A fine mist sprayer or a dropper is more suitable for such products. Very thick balms and butters, on the other hand, may be too stiff for the mechanism. We recommend checking the behaviour of your particular formulation in a trial fill.

Filling and volume

The nominal volume is the volume the bottle is intended for with normal filling. The brimful capacity is the physical volume up to the neck and is slightly larger. The difference provides a reserve for the pump tube and for the expansion of the contents with changes in temperature. The bottle is therefore filled to the nominal 30 ml, not to the brim, otherwise the contents will overflow through the neck when the pump is screwed on.

Fill emulsions and gels only after they have cooled to room temperature, as PET is not intended for hot filling. A thick cream is filled using a narrow funnel, a syringe without a needle or a bag with a corner cut off.

Good to know

• Preparation before first filling – wash the bottle and the pump, disinfect them with isopropyl alcohol or ethanol and leave them to dry completely. Pump clean water through the pump several times so that the tube is rinsed as well.
• Material sensitivity – PET and PP should not come into contact with aggressive chemicals. For formulations with a higher proportion of essential oils, alcohol or solvents, check how the packaging behaves on a single bottle before a larger batch.
• Reuse – after thorough washing and drying, the set can be used again. You will find the procedure for cleaning the pump in the questions below.
• Recycling – take the set apart before disposal. The bottle is made of PET and the pump of PP, and both are sorted as plastic.
• Other closures – other closures from the Handymade range can also be fitted to the same type of neck, and the range also includes ready-made combinations. If you make your own combination, check the tightness and dispensing with your specific formulation.

Frequently asked questions