In 2010, the Expert Panel for Cosmetic Ingredient Safety evaluated the scientific data for these ingredients and the closely related sodium laureth sulfate and ammonium laureth sulfate and concluded that all of these ingredients were safe for use in cosmetics and personal care products in the present practices of use and concentration, when formulated to be non-irritating.

Trace amounts of a manufacturing by-product called 1,4-dioxane may be found in these ingredients. The compound 1,4-dioxane is not used as an ingredient in cosmetic or personal care products. It is a manufacturing by-product that may be present in extremely small amounts in some cosmetic and personal care product ingredients. These ingredients include certain cleansing materials (i.e., detergents), foaming agents, emulsifiers and solvents that are included on this page. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) states on its website that, “The 1,4-dioxane levels we have seen in our monitoring of cosmetics do not present a hazard to consumers.”

These cleansing ingredients may be used in cosmetics and personal care products marketed in Europe according to the general provisions of the Cosmetics Directive of the European Union. Ingredients of animal origin must comply with European Union animal by-products regulations.