AMMONIUM LAURYL SULFATE
Ammonium lauryl sulfate, also listed as AMMONIUM LAURYL SULFATE, is an anionic surfactant. It combines a twelve-carbon lauryl chain with a sulfate group associated with ammonium, a structure that suits products designed to work with both water and oily residues.
AMMONIUM LAURYL SULFATE: what it is
Ammonium lauryl sulfate, also listed as AMMONIUM LAURYL SULFATE, is an anionic surfactant. It combines a twelve-carbon lauryl chain with a sulfate group associated with ammonium, a structure that suits products designed to work with both water and oily residues.
It is made from dodecyl alcohol, which is sulfated and then neutralised with ammonia. That sets it apart from an oil or a botanical extract: it is a compound made by chemical reaction, and the label name does not identify a specific plant as the product's raw material.
AMMONIUM LAURYL SULFATE: what it does in cosmetics
In shampoos, liquid soaps and bath products, ammonium lauryl sulfate helps distribute the product in water and lift oil and soil during rinsing. Foam accompanies that cleansing action and can make the product easier to spread through hair or across the skin.
A laboratory study examined how alveolar macrophage cells responded to the compound; it did not test a finished cosmetic or use on skin or hair. That kind of research does not show a cosmetic benefit or make the ingredient a treatment, so the reasonable label expectation is cleansing and foaming.
Products containing this ingredient
See which products include it and the name used in each composition.
