Sodium Dodoxynol-40 Sulfate ●
TL;DR. This ingredient is an anionic surfactant used for cleansing, foaming, and helping oily soils disperse into rinse-off formulas. It can also support emulsification in shampoos, body washes, and facial cleansers.
What does Sodium Dodoxynol-40 Sulfate do in a cosmetic formula?
This ingredient is an anionic surfactant used for cleansing, foaming, and helping oily soils disperse into rinse-off formulas. It can also support emulsification in shampoos, body washes, and facial cleansers.
Is Sodium Dodoxynol-40 Sulfate clean?
From a clean-beauty perspective, this ingredient has friction because it is ethoxylated and may carry trace processing residues such as 1,4-dioxane if not well purified. Its irritation profile is generally formula-dependent, with higher concern in leave-on use or high-active cleansing systems.
Is Sodium Dodoxynol-40 Sulfate sustainable?
This material is typically made from a fatty alcohol source that may be plant-derived or petrochemical, then further processed with petrochemical-derived ethylene oxide and sulfation chemistry. It is expected to be biodegradable as a surfactant class, but its processing route is less aligned with low-intervention natural standards.
Is Sodium Dodoxynol-40 Sulfate COSMOS-approved?
This ingredient is not permitted under COSMOS-natural or COSMOS-organic because ethoxylated materials are outside the standard. Its Green Chemistry fit is mixed, with useful cleansing efficiency and likely biodegradability, but petrochemical ethoxylation and residue-control requirements are clear drawbacks.
How does Sodium Dodoxynol-40 Sulfate work chemically?
The molecule is a sodium salt of a sulfated, highly ethoxylated fatty-alcohol ether, combining an anionic it head with a long hydrophobic chain and a large polyethylene glycol segment. It is water-soluble, stable across typical cleanser pH ranges, and is usually formulated with amphoteric or nonionic co-surfactants to tune foam, viscosity, and mildness.
Last updated 2026-05-13