Skincare box packaging design

Skincare box packaging design: tuck end cartons sized around real jars and bottles, outer sizes in mm, board thickness, bleed, safe area and all six faces.

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Sizes: 50 ml · 100 ml · 50 ml
Box (L × W × H): 55 × 55 × 54 mm
Label band: 35–86.5 mm

Most skincare boxes are folding cartons, and most of those are reverse tuck end boxes: a single printed sheet, glued once down the side, with tuck flaps closing the top and bottom from opposite sides. What changes from product to product is the size, and the size should come from the container inside, not from a stock box list.

The Packgami engine works the size out from the product. It takes the jar or bottle at its widest, adds 2 mm of air on each side and the board thickness, and leaves 3 mm above the lid, then rounds up to the next half millimetre. With 0.45 mm board our 50 ml reference jar gets a 55 by 55 by 54 mm box, nearly a cube. The sizes table lists the containers this box is built around.

Design tips

Size from the real product, then test by hand. The 2 mm side allowance stops a jar rattling without making it hard to slide out. Once you have a sample box, drop the real filled jar in and shake it before signing off the size.
Choose the board first. Board thickness is part of the box size: every panel after the first allows for one board thickness so the loop closes. Changing board after the dieline is drawn means redrawing it.
Keep artwork inside the safe area. The engine's carton dielines use 3 mm of bleed outside the cut line and a 3 mm safe inset inside it. Keep type and logos inside the safe line so a small cutting shift doesn't trim them.
Plan all six faces. Front for the brand and product name, one side for claims, the other for directions, the back for ingredients, address and barcode. On a near-cube jar box the top panel is as big as the front, so give it the product name too.
Show that the box hasn't been opened. A small clear or printed seal across one tuck flap tells the customer nobody has been into the box before them, and costs very little.

[Spec sheet]

Products this box fits

Volume	Body height	Diameter	Printable label band
50 ml	44 mm	50 mm	35 mm
100 ml	54 mm	62 mm	45 mm
50 ml	108 mm	38 mm	86.5 mm

What box style is most common for skincare?

The reverse tuck end (RTE) folding carton: one sheet of board, one glue seam, and tuck flaps that close the top and bottom from opposite sides. It is cheap, ships flat and suits light products. Heavier glass products often use a crash-lock base, which holds more weight.

What size box fits a 50 ml cream jar?

The Packgami engine sizes the box around our 50 ml reference jar with 2 mm of air at each side and 3 mm above the lid. With 0.45 mm board, that gives an outer size of 55 by 55 by 54 mm. The same method gives 67 by 67 by 66 mm for the 100 ml jar.

Are box sizes given as inside or outside dimensions?

It depends on who you ask. Packaging printers often quote internal dimensions, length by width by depth, because those decide whether the product fits. The sizes on this page are outer sizes. Always confirm which one your printer means before you approve a dieline.

What board is used for skincare boxes?

Usually a folding boxboard or solid bleached board, often somewhere between 300 and 400 gsm, coated on the print side. Thicker board feels sturdier but changes the box size and makes tight folds crack, so choose the board before the final dieline is drawn.

Do skincare products need a box?

Not by law in every case, but a box gives you room for the full ingredient list, directions and translations that may not fit on a small jar or bottle. It also protects glass in transit and gives the product a bigger face on the shelf.

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Skincare box packaging design

One container, three views.

Design tips

Products this box fits

Download the skincare box carton dieline

Questions, answered.