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Ingredient on hair labels

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate

TheWashDay editorial · Updated · From the EU ingredient register and the makers’ own labels · How we match names

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Sodium Lauryl Sulfate is on 2 of the 177 hair-product labels we compare, from 2 makers. Its uses in the EU ingredient register include cleansing, foaming and cleansing surfactant. Every one of these labels names it among its first five ingredients.

See it on each label Products without it

What it is

In the register’s words: “Sodium Lauryl Sulfate is the sodium salt of lauryl sulfate.”

EU register name (INCI)
SODIUM LAURYL SULFATE
CAS number
151-21-3/ 68585-47-7 (generic)/ 68955-19-1 (generic)/ 73296-89-6/ 85586-07-8
EC number
205-788-1/ -/ -/277-362-3/ -

What the register lists it for

These are the uses the European Commission’s CosIng register lists for Sodium Lauryl Sulfate in any cosmetic, hair roles first. They say why a maker might add it, not what it does in one formula, and they aren’t a safety rating.

Cleansing

The register’s general role for ingredients that help clean, from washing ingredients to some plant extracts.

Register definition: “Helping to keep the body surface clean.”

Foaming

Traps air in a liquid to make foam or lather.

Register definition: “Traping numerous small bubbles of air or other gas within a small volume of liquid by modifying the surface tension of the liquid.”

Cleansing surfactant

The washing ingredients: they let water lift oil, product and dirt off hair and scalp. Shampoos list them near the top; some conditioners hold a little.

Register definition: “Wetting body surfaces, emulsifying or solubilizing oils, and suspending soil (generally, such ingredients contribute to the foaming and lathering properties of cleansing products).”

Denaturant

Makes alcohol taste too bad to drink. It is why labels say Alcohol Denat.

Register definition: “Rendering cosmetics unpalatable. Mostly added to cosmetics containing ethyl alcohol to make it unsuitable for ingestion.”

Where it sits on each label

US labels list ingredients from most to least, except that those at 1% or less may follow in any order. A name near the top is a large part of the formula. A label doesn’t mark where the 1% point falls, so further down, the order says little about how much is in it.

Every label, product by product (2)

Each line runs from the first name on a label to the last; a dot is where this ingredient sits. Makers change formulas now and then; if the list on your bottle differs, go by your bottle.

Your next step

Find products without Sodium Lauryl Sulfate Check every name on your own label All ingredients on the labels we compare

Other cleansing ingredients on these labels

Updated · The name, numbers and uses come from the European Commission’s CosIng entry (CC BY 4.0); we write the uses in US spelling and put the hair ones first. The labels are each maker’s own. The order rule is the FDA’s Cosmetics Labeling Guide. All our sources are on the Sources page.