Clear Plastic Bottle, Black Lotion Pump with Smoky Overcap, 10 ml

The clear PET medicine bottle with a volume of 10 ml, a black lotion pump and a smoky overcap is packaging for small amounts of more fluid cosmetic products that are dispensed by pressing, without fingers touching the contents. It is suitable for serum samples, light face emulsions, thinner eye creams, gel products, or for testing a new formulation before a larger production run. You can see the remaining amount, as well as any changes in the emulsion, through the clear wall. PET is light and does not break, so the packaging withstands being carried in a handbag or travel bag.

The set is declared as suitable for contact with cosmetics. Only the bottle on its own has a certificate for direct food contact; the pump does not, so the set as a whole is intended for cosmetic use.

How the set works

The pump screws onto the neck of the bottle and draws up the contents through a dip tube. When the head is pressed, the product comes out through the valve at the top, and one press releases approximately 0.14 ml. Such small doses suit concentrated products of which only a drop is used: eye serum, serum with a higher proportion of active ingredients, or treatment for the cuticles or lips. The smoky overcap protects the head from being pressed accidentally in a bag and from dust. Before first use, press the pump several times without any product until the dip tube draws up the contents.

• Dispensing without contact with the contents – the product does not touch your fingers as it does in a jar, so less dirt is introduced into the remaining contents.
• Small, repeatable doses – for concentrated serums and more expensive formulations where consumption should be controlled.
• Clear body – you can see how much of the contents remains and whether the emulsion stays homogeneous.
• Unbreakable material – PET withstands a fall as well as pressure in luggage.

Which textures the pump is intended for

A pump with a dip tube works best with liquid to medium-thick textures: water-based and hydrogel serums, light O/W emulsions, facial milks, and oil serums with a lower viscosity. Thick creams, butters or products with a high proportion of solid waxes either do not pass through the dip tube or are dispensed unevenly by the pump. If the consistency is borderline, fill one bottle and check whether the dose settles after several presses.

Do not fill PET with hot contents. Let the emulsion or gel cool to room temperature before filling, as the plastic may deform at higher temperatures. For products with a higher content of undiluted essential oils or alcohol, check how the material behaves on one bottle before filling a larger quantity.

Nominal and total volume

The nominal volume is the amount the bottle is designed for in normal filling. The total brimful volume is the physical volume of the container up to the neck and is slightly larger. The difference provides room for the dip tube and the pump valve and for the expansion of the contents when the temperature changes. The bottle should therefore be filled to the nominal volume, not to the brim. If it is overfilled, part of the contents is pushed out through the neck when the pump is screwed on.

Good to know

Before the first filling, wash the bottle and the pump, disinfect them with isopropyl alcohol or ethanol and let them dry completely. Residual water in the dip tube would dilute the first dose and increase the risk of microbial contamination in water-based formulations. Water-based and emulsion products in this packaging need a preservative, because air is drawn into the bottle after every press.

The set can be reused. Once the bottle is empty, rinse the pump with warm water with a little washing-up liquid, pump clean water through it several times and finally ethanol, then let it dry with the head unscrewed. Residues of oil serums in the dip tube eventually solidify and the pump jams, so clean it as soon as the product is used up.

When sorting waste, separate the pump from the bottle. The body is made of PET, the pump of polypropylene, and each material belongs in recycling separately.

Frequently asked questions