Heres a nice tidbit that explains the foaming ingredient used in all Perfectly Posh products... Did you say Sodium Lauryl Sulfate or Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate? Posted on January 19, 2010 by slibeauty We all have heard the term Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS). An ingredient that is placed in our shampoos and body washes to create those fun bubbles that we all thought was keeping our hair and bodies clean. A surfactant. A detergent. Yes, your shampoo and body wash is a foaming cocktail of ingredients that half the time you can’t pronounce. I want to talk about an ingredient called Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate. I know it seems identical and really is two words deep. Have a closer look at the third word if you will. It does not say Sulfate, it says Sulfoacetate. Close enough you say! Hardly close at all! These two ingredients couldn’t be any further apart from each other if they tried. Let’s break these down into layman’s terms, Sodium Lauyl Sulfate is the cheap detergent that is put into your shampoos and body washes to make those big bubbles. (Same stuff they use to clean the grease off car engines!!!!) Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate helps to create those big bubbles too, but there’s a catch, Sodium Lauyl Sulfate is a harsh cheap chemical and Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate, to your surprise is a natural ingredient. That is naturally mosituring and non-irritating. Shocking I know! So, let’s talk more about this natural ingredient, Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate. What do we know about it? Well, it is derived from coconut and palm oils, it is completely 100% safe for our skin. This plant derived ingredient effectively helps to remove oil, dirt and bacteria, without drying or irritating even the most sensitive skin. Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate is also a hydrophilic, this means it is attracted to water which enables it to dissolve more readily in water, thus providing superior rinse ability! To break this down even further let’s talk a little basic soap science. To make soap, you need vegetable oil or fat to be mixed with a high alkaline ingredient such as lye. When this happens you create an product that likes oil and water. Many soaps are anionic which means that they have a negative charge on the big soap molecule that needs to be balanced by a positive charged molecule such as sodium ion. So to break down the ingredient Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate: Sodium: is the what is called the counter ion Lauryl: simply refers to a type of oil from the coconut that is 12 Carbon units long (olive oil is made of oleic acid that is 18 carbons long) Sulfoacetate: refers to the water loving part of the molecule. Sulfur helps the acetate (vinegar) portion of the molecule create more stable bubbles and softer lather. I know it’s hard to know the difference between some of the ingredients in the shampoos and conditioners out there when you can’t even pronounce half of them. So now you know the difference between Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate. Two of the most commonly confused ingredients in shampoos and body washes. One is good for your skin, the other is harsh, irritating and drying. How do you want your skin to feel? Soft and moisturized? I do too!
Posted on: Tue, 15 Oct 2013 12:46:02 +0000
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