Tea-Lauryl Sulfate ●
TL;DR. This ingredient is an anionic surfactant used to cleanse, create foam, and disperse oils and soils in rinse-off products. It helps build lather in shampoos, body washes, and facial cleansers.
What does Tea-Lauryl Sulfate do in a cosmetic formula?
This ingredient is an anionic surfactant used to cleanse, create foam, and disperse oils and soils in rinse-off products. It helps build lather in shampoos, body washes, and facial cleansers.
Is Tea-Lauryl Sulfate clean?
From a clean-beauty perspective, it has friction because it can be a stronger degreasing surfactant with higher sting and dryness potential than many milder surfactants. Its amine neutralizer also raises nitrosamine-control expectations, so brands that exclude amine chemistry often flag it.
Is Tea-Lauryl Sulfate sustainable?
This material is typically made from a fatty alcohol that may be coconut, palm, or petrochemical derived, then chemically sulfated and neutralized. The surfactant portion is generally biodegradable, but palm-chain sourcing and petrochemical amine inputs weaken its sustainability profile.
Is Tea-Lauryl Sulfate COSMOS-approved?
It is generally not permitted under COSMOS-natural or COSMOS-organic because the amine neutralizer is not a standard accepted neutralizing base in that framework. Green Chemistry alignment is mixed: the fatty chain can be renewable and biodegradable, but sulfation chemistry and petrochemical neutralization are compromises.
How does Tea-Lauryl Sulfate work chemically?
The molecule is an anionic it ester salt with a C12 hydrophobic tail and a bulky organic ammonium counterion, giving strong micelle formation and high foam. Typical use is about 5 to 30% as supplied in cleansing systems, with mildness often improved by amphoteric co-surfactants, nonionic surfactants, polymers, and humectants.
Last updated 2026-05-16