Sodium Cocoylisethionate ●
TL;DR. This ingredient is a mild anionic surfactant used to create dense foam and cleansing in bars, shampoos, facial cleansers, and body washes. It is especially useful in solid or low-water formats because it performs well as a primary cleanser.
What does Sodium Cocoylisethionate do in a cosmetic formula?
This ingredient is a mild anionic surfactant used to create dense foam and cleansing in bars, shampoos, facial cleansers, and body washes. It is especially useful in solid or low-water formats because it performs well as a primary cleanser.
Is Sodium Cocoylisethionate clean?
From a clean-beauty perspective, it is generally well tolerated and widely accepted, with less irritation potential than many stronger sulfate cleansers. The main caveats are residual processing impurities and dryness at higher surfactant loads, not a broad restricted-list issue.
Is Sodium Cocoylisethionate sustainable?
This material is usually made from coconut or palm-kernel fatty acids plus a synthetic sulfonated component, so sourcing depends on responsible tropical-oil supply chains. It is considered readily biodegradable, although its manufacturing route is more chemically intensive than simple soap or sugar-based surfactants.
Is Sodium Cocoylisethionate COSMOS-approved?
It can be permitted under COSMOS-natural when the raw materials and processing route meet the standard’s requirements, but it is not a straightforward COSMOS-organic ingredient. Its Green Chemistry fit is mixed, with renewable fatty-chain content and good biodegradability balanced by synthetic processing and partial petrochemical feedstock reliance.
How does Sodium Cocoylisethionate work chemically?
The molecule combines a C12-C18 fatty acyl chain with a sulfonated hydroxyethyl head group as a sodium salt, giving strong foam, good detergency, and relatively mild skin feel for an anionic cleanser. It is commonly used around 3-15% in liquid cleansers and much higher in syndet bars, and it performs best near mildly acidic to neutral pH with co-surfactants or emollients to improve mildness and processing.
Last updated 2026-05-15