Lauryl Betaine ●
TL;DR. This ingredient is a mild amphoteric surfactant used for cleansing, foam support, and viscosity building in shampoos, body washes, and facial cleansers. It also helps reduce the sharpness of stronger anionic surfactants in rinse-off formulas.
What does Lauryl Betaine do in a cosmetic formula?
This ingredient is a mild amphoteric surfactant used for cleansing, foam support, and viscosity building in shampoos, body washes, and facial cleansers. It also helps reduce the sharpness of stronger anionic surfactants in rinse-off formulas.
Is Lauryl Betaine clean?
From a clean-beauty perspective, it is generally well accepted and usually has a lower sensitization profile than amidoamine-derived amphoterics. The main scrutiny is around residual processing impurities, residual amines, and overall surfactant load in formulas for sensitive skin.
Is Lauryl Betaine sustainable?
This material is commonly based on a C12 fatty chain that may come from coconut, palm kernel, or petrochemical sources, so sourcing transparency matters. It is generally considered readily biodegradable, although its manufacturing route involves synthetic conversion steps.
Is Lauryl Betaine COSMOS-approved?
It can be permitted under COSMOS-natural when it meets the standard’s surfactant, origin, and impurity requirements, but it is not a simple minimally processed natural material. Its Green Chemistry profile is strongest when the fatty chain is renewable and the final material is readily biodegradable, with weaker points around derivatization and reagent management.
How does Lauryl Betaine work chemically?
The molecule is a zwitterionic amphoteric surfactant with a C12 hydrophobic tail, a quaternary ammonium center, and a carboxylate group, which lets it interact well with both anionic and nonionic surfactants. It is typically used in rinse-off cleansing systems at low to moderate active levels, is stable across common cleanser pH ranges, and can improve foam texture and salt-response viscosity.
Last updated 2026-05-13