HS Code for Face Cream

Face cream is classified in chapter 33 of the HTSUS, where heading 3304 covers beauty or make-up preparations and preparations for the care of the skin, other than medicaments, including sunscreen and suntan preparations. The heading first separates named make-up categories, lip make-up (3304.10), eye make-up (3304.20), and manicure or pedicure preparations (3304.30), from the residual beauty and skin-care group at 3304.9. Ordinary face creams and moisturizers, being skin-care rather than a named make-up type, usually point toward the residual 'other' skin-care line at 3304.99. Across these representative lines the general rate of duty is Free. A cream presented as a medicament for treating a skin condition is a different story and may point toward chapter 30 instead.

Face cream sits in chapter 33 of the HTSUS, which covers essential oils, perfumery, cosmetic and toilet preparations. Heading 3304 is the dedicated provision for beauty or make-up preparations and preparations for the care of the skin (other than medicaments), including sunscreen or suntan preparations, and manicure or pedicure preparations. Moisturizers, day and night creams, serums and similar skin-care products all point toward heading 3304 as a starting point.

The first branch within the heading separates the specifically named make-up categories from general skin care. Lip make-up preparations point toward subheading 3304.10, eye make-up preparations toward 3304.20, and manicure or pedicure preparations toward 3304.30. These lines are for products that fall squarely into those named uses rather than for a general facial cream.

Everything else in the heading falls under the 3304.9 group. Within it, the tariff separates powders (whether or not compressed, including rouges) at 3304.91 from the residual 'other' line at 3304.99. A face cream that is a lotion, cream or serum for the care of the skin is neither a powder nor a named make-up type, so it usually points toward the residual 3304.99 line. Petroleum jelly put up for retail sale has its own breakout at 3304.99.10, while other skin-care creams and moisturizers point toward 3304.99.50.

A practical approach is to confirm first whether the product is a named make-up type (lip, eye, or nail), then, if not, whether it is a powder or another form, which points a general facial cream toward 3304.99. That sequence usually points toward a single most-appropriate subheading to explore. The main boundary to watch is between a cosmetic skin-care preparation and a medicament: a cream presented as a medicine for treating or preventing a specific skin condition may point toward chapter 30 rather than 3304, and soaps and organic surface-active cleansers point toward heading 3401 rather than 3304.

The representative face-cream and related skin-care and make-up lines shown here (lip and eye make-up, powders and rouges, petroleum jelly, and other skin-care preparations) all carry a general rate of duty of Free under heading 3304. Because the general rate is already Free across these lines, identifying the right subheading is mainly about better classification and statistical reporting by product type rather than a change in estimated duty. Preferential programs such as free trade agreements would not lower an already-free general rate. Note that a cream presented as a medicament, which may point toward chapter 30, would follow that chapter's own rates rather than the Free treatment of heading 3304. These figures are estimates for general planning purposes only.