Frequently Asked Questions

We are a Canadian company located in Midland, Ontario.

Taxes are calculated based on where products are shipped to, not where they are ordered from. See the below chart for the appropriate tax amount. Customer orders to be shipped to the United States are not subject to Canadian taxes. British Columbia - 12% HST Alberta - 5% GST Saskatchewan - 5% GST Manitoba - 5% GST Ontario - 13% HST Quebec - 5% GST Newfoundland and Labrador - 13% HST Nova Scotia - 15% HST New Brunswick - 13% HST Prince Edward Island - 5% GST Northwest Territories - 5% GST Nunavut - 5% GST Yukon - 5% GST

Import duties, taxes, and brokerage fees are not included in the product price or shipping and handling cost and will be collected upon delivery from the carriers for certain packages. These charges are the recipient’s responsibility as we are only charging the transportation fee for the packages. You may check with your country’s customs office to determine what these additional costs will be.

Your credit card will be charged within 24 hours of your order.

We do not like to position our products as hypoallergenic. A list of ingredients is available for each product. There is no defined methodology to test for allergic reactions in personal care products, nor does the FDA regulate use of the term "hypoallergenic."

This term refers to ingredients in beauty products that clog the pores and can cause blackheads, pimples or cosmetic-related acne. We use beeswax and plant oils instead of potentially comedogenic, non-natural ingredients like mineral oil, petrolatum, and paraffin that are commonly found in other personal care products and cosmetics.

If you are concerned that you may have a reaction or did have a reaction to one of our products, please contact us. In the case of life-threatening emergencies, please dial 911 or call your health care provider.

First Elements products are recommended for all skin types, even sensitive skin. Our products maintain a healthy skin balance.

At First Element, we are striving to meet 100% natural on our products instead of 100% organic because we feel the organic standards for personal care products leave too much room for interpretation.

The standards and requirements that currently exist for organic products require that only 70% of the product is made with certified organic ingredients. The issue is with the remaining 30% of the product. This remaining 30% could include synthetic ingredients. At First Element we don’t agree with these standards and regulations, and vow to continually evaluate our ingredients and will use only those ingredients that are of natural origins.

Our products are made with natural ingredients. We purposely present our products in smaller portions so you finish them while their ingredients are still fresh and providing their maximum effectiveness.

As such, we recommend you store creams and oils in a cool, dark place away from direct sunlight and heat. Creams may be stored in the fridge for ultimate protection.

Our products should be in good quality condition for 1-2 years. We recommend that our products are used within 12 months after opening since they are natural products. This includes keeping them out of extreme temperatures and direct sunlight. In general, any difference in texture or consistency of one of our products is often associated with it being a natural product. 

First Element does NOT conduct product or ingredient tests of any kind on animals. A few of our products contain ingredients derived from bees such as beeswax.

We do not use actual bee venom in our products – only bee by-products such as beeswax. However, if you are allergic to bee by-products, then we do not suggest using our products. We recommend that you contact your health care provider when changing your skin care regimen to find out which products are best for you.

At First Element, we now offer a Natural line of scents and a synthetic line (Mens Grooming items only). We prefer to use All Natural scents where we can, although we had a high demand in our Private Label Services for more variety in our scents options. 

Test our products! Once you test the products and like them, you'll be more invested to push and sell the products! You need to love the product to push sales! 

We deal with lower minimum orders to help barbershop and small businesses start up. Details for each product will be listed on the information sheets supplied when you enquire.

Yes, only if you are buying our stocked formulations and have labels. Limitations based on the order quantity. Enquire for more details. 

Yes, of course! With Private Label we make our product and apply your branding! 

Yes, we do help with the creation of labels and other graphic design services. Please inquire.

Yes, we can supply labels for your products. If your design is outside our basic label requirements an additional fee may be required, please inquire for custom die-cut labels that are different from our standard sizes. Pricing depends on the quantity ordered. Learn more about Labels.

Yes, we would supply you with a template that we created in Adobe Illustrator. If you need assistance with label design, we can help with that too. Please inquire.

All labels must abide by your countries regulations. Labels in Canada must have English and French.

• Product Title (Beard Oil with the scent)
• Net Qty of the product
• How to use instructions
• Ingredients in INCI format
• Any special instructions or cautions of use
• Origin of the product (Made in Canada)
• Company information (contacts)
  

Yes, you may substitute an ingredient. Although, we then classify this as a custom product and the minimum orders will be higher as we will not be able to stock the product for other clients. 

Yes of course. We would first start with a Non-Disclosure Agreement. Once that is completed we would then take your formulation and build out a costing analysis. Once approved, we would make samples for approval. There will be a custom formulation charge associated to cover costs of new ingredients and samples. These costs will be determined based on the formulations. Enquire today! 

All Private Label orders over the minimum orders are made FRESH AS ORDERED. Please allow 3 to 15 business days for all private label orders to be completed. If your order requires more than the allotted 7 to 15 days, you will be contacted when the order is placed to discuss the ETA. All Orders around the Minimum order will take 1-7 business days.

We do not supply outer packaging options for the items. However, we will will work with you in sourcing the best options for your brand. Additional charges may be added for additional labour.

We understand the importance of protecting your product from being broken in transit. All our Beard Oils are packaged in bubble wrapped bags

Yes, no worries - we are familiar with the process. We apply Amazon barcodes to the outside of each individual product.

First Element has the ability to take some attractive photos with a bright white background. White background shots only. $20 a photo - special pricing for higher quantities, please inquire. For Nature related photos, the cost would be determined based on the requirements and travel.

As of now, we accept email orders. Companies can submit their Purchase Orders to us, or if you don't use PO's a simple email detailing the order will suffice.

Once an order is accepted via email we will make an invoice in our online Quickbooks. An invoice will be sent to your accounts email from our Intuit Quickbooks account. This invoice can be paid online using a credit card. Quickbooks accepts MasterCard, Visa, Discover, and Apple Pay. If you require American Express, we can accept payment via PayPal.

We only require a deposit for orders that are larger than the minimum. Orders for labels are required to be paid in full before the labels are printed.  

Yes, this is actually preferred when working with larger orders. Orders over $5000 are preferred to be paid via wire transfer. Orders over this amount and paid via credit card will be subject to a 1.5% surcharge.

Yes Canadian clients can also send E-transfers for all orders.

No extra fees to signed up and start selling. Your costs are the following:

1. Individual Product Cost

2. Labels. Cost that you decide on

3. Any service that you choose(Graphic, Design, Photos)

4. Shipping. (This cost depends on where it's being shipped and quantity)

Designing labels can be hard, we can help! We require a logo in a high res vector.

Step 1. We'll send you a label questionnaire to fill out. We want to make sure that we develop a label that you want. We also want to make sure that wer are using our time wisely. To keep time limited the more information you share the better we can develop a label with minimal adjustments.

Step 2. We send proofs to you to approve or suggest adjustments. We repeat this process until approved. We do not move forward until approved.

Step 3. Order labels.

Whether you have your own formulation or want to tweak our stock formulation to create something just a little bit different from the competition, we can help you! Costing is not guaranteed to be the same as our stock formulation. All oils have different costs, so costing will be determined from the custom formulation. **Please note that we do not offer custom product formulation creation for fully new products. We either adjust our formulation or use yours to create the products.

If we are tweaking our formulation or substituting an ingredient, we will make the product to match our consistency. Once an agreed upon formulation is finalized, we will create a sample batch and send for approval. There will be a fee for a custom sampling and the costing for samples will depend on what is needed for the custom ingredient and production.

Ask for more details...

If we tweaking our formulation or substituing an ingredient, the base MOQ(minimum order quantity) moves for 50 to 100 units.

If a client is submitting their own formulation to be created, the minimum quantities will be based on the formulation and the costs associated to bring in new materials. A costing analysis must be done before we can provide a full MOQ.

Yes, we do have a vegan formulation option. We do not stock these and the base MOQ moves from 50 units to 100 units. Samples may not be available at the time of the inquiry. We may need to create a new test/sample batch.

The longest part about getting started is the testing process and creation of labels/branding. Order your samples and get started today. When it comes to branding, this step is important and each client is encouraged to take their time to get it the way they want. Branding and quality is important. Some of the timelines may overlap with one another (testing samples and branding)

1. Testing the products- we process the sample orders same day and shipping time depends on the courier and location. (typically 1-10 business days)

2. Branding/Labels- we can start this process right away. (1-7 business days)

3. Production- this depends on the size of the order. Standard minimums in the stocked formulations 1-3 business days. (this is the same for re-orders when we have the labels on hand) For larger orders 5-15 business days. For orders of 10,000 and above 7-30 business days.

4. Shipping of final orders- this depends on the service and geographical destination. (1-7 business days)

Our orders are processed internally within 1-3 business days from the time of order. Please note that this does not include shipping time. Please allow an additional 1-7 business days, depending on your geographic location.

Shipping is automatically calculated prior to submitting your payment information. Simply add items to your cart and proceed to the Checkout page. Please note that we reserve the right to correct shipping charges should our estimate software experience problems. If this should be the case, we will notify you of any changes to ensure that you would still like to place the order.

Yes, we can ship internationally and ship to Amazon in the USA on a regular basis. Items are shipped small tracked packet via Canada Post. Please note this may take additional days for delivery. (based on geographic area).

First Element offers a 100% 30-day money-back satisfaction guarantee (less shipping charges) to all customers.

• A product return form MUST accompany the returned product. A form will be sent by email upon request. 
• If the product is defective First Element will cover 100% of shipping.

Please note: If the product return is based on preference, the original shipping fees are not refundable. You are responsible for return shipping charges. We cannot accept COD deliveries and we highly recommend you insure your return shipment.

We can't control shipping delays from couriers and refunds are not issued based on late or delayed shipping times.