Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate

What Is It?

Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate is an organic salt with a sweet, pleasant odor. In cosmetics and personal care products, it is used in the formulation of dentifrices, bubble bath, and other bath preparations.

Why Is It Used?

When used in bath products and dentifrices, Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate increases foaming capacity or stabilizes foams. It also helps to form emulsions by reducing the surface tension of the substances to be emulsified when used in skin care preparations.

Scientific Facts

Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate, also known as Sodium Dodecyl Sulfoacetate, is an organic – surfactant (tensioactive substance) in a white powder or flake form. It is used for its wetting, scouring, emulsifying, and dispersing properties.

Safety Information

The safety of Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate was assessed by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Expert Panel. The CIR Expert Panel evaluated the scientific data and concluded that Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate was safe as a cosmetic ingredient.In 2004, as part of the scheduled re-evaluation of ingredients, the CIR Expert Panel considered available new data on this ingredient and reaffirmed the above conclusion.

CIR Safety Review: Based on experimental studies, Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate is only a mild ocular and skin irritant. In some cosmetic formulations, however, the irritant property is attenuated. The irritant effects are similar to those produced by other – tensioactive substances, and the severity of the irritation appears to increase directly with concentration. The longer this ingredient stays in contact with the skin, the greater is the likelihood of irritation, which may or may not be evident to the user.

Conversely, Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate appears to be less irritating when in products designed for brief, discontinuous use, followed by thorough rinsing from the skin. Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate may be used in cosmetics and personal care products marketed in Europe according to the general provisions of the Cosmetics Regulation of the European Union. Ingredients of animal origin must comply with European Union animal by-products regulations.

Link to the EU Cosmetic Regulation: 
http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/consumers/product_labelling_and_p…

More Scientific Information

Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate functions as a foaming or dispersing agent, and as a wetting agent in cosmetic products. This ingredient is used for skin and hair-cleaning purposes and as emulsifier in cosmetics. In this function, it helps to wet body surfaces, emulsify or solubilize oils, and suspend soil.

It is characteristic (and expected by some consumers) that such agent should contribute foaming and lathering properties to cleansing products and bubble baths.