Sodium Lactate ●
TL;DR. This ingredient is a water-phase humectant and skin-conditioning agent that helps bind water and support a smoother skin feel. It can also help buffer pH and improve the moisture profile of lotions, serums, cleansers, and leave-on formulas.
What does Sodium Lactate do in a cosmetic formula?
This ingredient is a water-phase humectant and skin-conditioning agent that helps bind water and support a smoother skin feel. It can also help buffer pH and improve the moisture profile of lotions, serums, cleansers, and leave-on formulas.
Is Sodium Lactate clean?
It is generally well tolerated and has little clean-standard friction, with no major restricted-list concern in typical cosmetic use. At higher levels, it can feel tacky or cause transient stinging on very compromised skin because it is a small, highly hygroscopic electrolyte.
Is Sodium Lactate sustainable?
This material is commonly made by fermenting plant-derived sugars, then neutralizing the resulting acid with a mineral alkali. It is readily biodegradable, water soluble, and not associated with persistence or bioaccumulation concerns.
Is Sodium Lactate COSMOS-approved?
It is permitted in COSMOS-natural and COSMOS-organic formulations when made through accepted fermentation and neutralization routes. It aligns well with Green Chemistry principles because it can use renewable feedstocks, mild aqueous processing, and has a favorable biodegradation profile.
How does Sodium Lactate work chemically?
The molecule is a small, ionic carboxylate salt with a hydroxyl group, which makes it very water soluble and strongly hygroscopic. Typical use levels are about 0.5% to 5% for humectancy, and formulators account for its electrolyte load because it can thin some polymer gels or shift emulsion viscosity.
Last updated 2026-05-13