Product Licensing

I've been doing a bit of research on different types of product licensing and marketing, with intent of marketing a product online. I've never done this before and I'm getting a bit confused by what I'm finding. If anyone could give me some pointers or knows of any helpful resources, I would really appreciate it.

First off, I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel. For my example, I'll say I want to sell my own brand of shampoo and a skin ointment. I really only wish to market one product, but reasoning for both is the difference in opinion that I'm running into and don't understand.

For example, both products are topicals, but are differentiated by their implied use. Neither are intended to be consumable items. Where I'm getting lost is I'm finding that it's a fine line between an everyday use product and an implied use product. Such as, a skin ointment has an implied function, as to heal, improve, correct, etc...taken much more seriously by the many government regulation divisions. Whereas, shampoo's are not, for the most part.

Now that you get the idea of a general description, what determines the guidelines for something like this. I see things sold everyday online that aren't FDA approved, yada yada yada. Where are the legal guidelines in this arena? And how do you plan for a lasting business in the beginning, not just some "let's see if we can get away with moving 35k of Xwidget before shutting the doors"?

In trying to assume an accurate an ethical business plan, is there a proper procedure to follow for this particular category of products?

The way I understand it, if I were talking about 'consumable items', this would be a whole different ballgame. Does any of this sound accurate for those that may be seasoned a little bit?

Thanks in advance!