Guide
Which closure suits which product
The most common thing that goes wrong with cosmetic packaging is not the bottle. It is the closure being wrong for what went inside it. A pump that will not lift a thick cream is not a faulty pump, it is a pump specified for something thinner, and it is a mistake that is free to avoid and expensive to discover after a production run.
Below is what generally works. If you are unsure, order ten and fill one. That is what the 10-unit minimum is for.
| Your formula | Use | Avoid | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thin liquids: toner, mist, micellar water | Spray or mist pump, or a disc cap | Dropper | Thin liquid runs straight out of a pipette before it reaches the skin. A mist pump doses it evenly and a disc cap pours without flooding. |
| Light lotion and fluid serum | Lotion pump or airless pump | Wide-mouth jar | A pump keeps fingers out of the product, which matters most for anything water based. Airless also protects formulas that oxidise. |
| Thick cream, body butter, shea | Jar, or a pump specified for high viscosity | Standard lotion pump, most airless pumps | This is the single most common failure. A pump not specified for the viscosity will not lift the product, and the customer decides the bottle is broken. Thick product also strands at the bottom when the dip tube is short. |
| Facial oil, essential oil, serum | Dropper | Pump for very small volumes | A dropper doses by the drop, which is what an oil needs. Under about 30ml a pump wastes a noticeable share of the bottle in its own dip tube. |
| Gel, gel cleanser | Disc cap or lotion pump | Mist spray | Gel is too viscous to atomise. It will clog a mist nozzle and then dry in it. |
| Balm, solid or anhydrous | Jar or tin | Any pump, any dropper | Nothing that relies on flow will move a solid. A jar is the only sensible answer. |
| Shampoo, conditioner, body wash | Lotion pump or disc cap, larger neck | Narrow-neck bottle | High volume dispensed quickly, often with wet hands. A wider neck refills faster and a disc cap survives being knocked over in a shower. |
Three things worth checking
Match the dip tube to the bottle
The tube has to reach the bottom of the bottle you are actually using. Too short and the last portion of every unit is stranded, which reads to your customer as short measure.
Match the neck to the closure
A closure and a neck finish that were not designed together is the usual reason a filled bottle leaks in transit, even though it seemed fine empty. Buying both as a pair removes the problem.
Fill it before you commit
Fill one with your actual formula, close it, and shake it. Viscosity is the variable that decides whether a pump works, and no photograph or spec sheet will tell you how your own formula behaves.
Every listing shows the real height, width, capacity and weight, and the closure the variant ships with. If something is not listed, ask us.