Cosmetic ingredient

DISODIUM CETEARYL SULFOSUCCINATE

Disodium Cetearyl Sulfosuccinate is a group of sulfosuccinate esters in their disodium-salt form. It is not a single-molecule material: the name covers C16 to C18 alkyl chains attached to that chemical family, a feature that helps explain how it behaves where water and oil meet.

INCIDI1 products
CAS number
91697-07-3
EC number
294-268-8

DISODIUM CETEARYL SULFOSUCCINATE: what it is

Disodium Cetearyl Sulfosuccinate is a group of sulfosuccinate esters in their disodium-salt form. It is not a single-molecule material: the name covers C16 to C18 alkyl chains attached to that chemical family, a feature that helps explain how it behaves where water and oil meet.

The “cetearyl” part points to that C16–C18 chain range rather than to one defined chain. This matters when reading an ingredient list, because sulfosuccinate ingredients can have similar names while the chain combination is what identifies this particular material.

DISODIUM CETEARYL SULFOSUCCINATE: what it does in cosmetics

In cleansing products, Disodium Cetearyl Sulfosuccinate helps water spread and carry oily residue away during rinsing. It can also support foam formation and help keep ingredients that do not naturally mix with water more evenly dispersed in the product.

Its role is therefore tied to cleansing and to how the formula holds together, not to a clinical result of its own for acne, dark spots or wrinkles. Skin conditioning is also listed among its cosmetic functions, but that does not establish a treatment effect or link the ingredient on its own to improvement of a skin condition.

Catalogue presence

Products containing this ingredient

See which products include it and the name used in each composition.