EWG Skin Deep® | What is SODIUM LAURYL SULFATE

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED™

Data: Fair

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate

^†This ingredient’s score is higher if used in products intended for use around the eyes due to increased risk of absorption.
^†This ingredient’s score is higher if used in products that are inhalable (e.g., sprays, powders) because of respiratory concerns.
^†Products with the EWG VERIFIED mark have met use restrictions and warnings based on EWG review of company data.

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Use restrictions (low), Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate), and Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (moderate)

SYNONYMS

MONODODECYL ESTER SODIUM SALT SULFURIC ACID, SODIUM DODECYL SULFATE, SODIUM DODECYL SULPHATE, SODIUM LAURYL SULFATE, SODIUM LAURYL SULFATE SODIUM LAURYL SULFATE, SODIUM SALT SULFURIC ACID, MONODODECYL ESTER, SULFURIC ACID MONODODECYL ESTER SODIUM SALT, and SULFURIC ACID, MONODODECYL ESTER, SODIUM SALT

Sodium lauryl sulfate is the sodium salt of lauryl sulfate.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

LOW

Cancer
LOW

Allergies & Immunotoxicity
LOW

Developmental and Reingredientive Toxicity
LOW

Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

CONCERNS
DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

toothpaste	264 products
shampoo	240 products
liquid hand soap	163 products
body wash/cleanser	136 products
conditioner	42 products
bath oil/salts/soak	41 products
hair color and bleaching	32 products
eye liner	24 products
bubble bath	24 products
facial cleanser	22 products
bar soap	20 products
tooth whitening	19 products
brow liner	16 products
mouthwash	14 products
exfoliant/scrub	13 products
shaving cream	12 products
facial moisturizer/treatment	10 products
baby toothpaste	8 products
skin fading/lightener	8 products
shaving cream (men's)	8 products
hair styling aide	5 products
eye shadow	5 products
styling gel/lotion	5 products
foundation	4 products
moisturizer	3 products
hair treatment/serum	3 products
foot cleansing	2 products
beard cleanser	2 products
	2 products
makeup remover	2 products
body firming lotion	1 products
eyelash glue	1 products
beard care	1 products
styling mousse/foam	1 products
after sun product	1 products
mascara	1 products
mask	1 products
hand cream	1 products

Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Human any irritant - strong evidence	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Classified as expected to be toxic or harmful	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List
Classified as medium human health priority	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Use restrictions

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - Safe for use in cosmetics with some qualifications	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Ecotoxicology

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Suspected to be an environmental toxin	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Data gaps

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Risk assessment method deficiencies and data gaps - Maximum reported "as used" concentration is basis of safety assessment by industry safety panel (Cosmetic Ingredient Review, CIR) - implicit safe concentration limit in product	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
90333 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical	NLM PubMed

Persistence and bioaccumulation

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Not suspected to be persistent	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List
Not suspected to be bioaccumulative	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Multiple, additive exposure sources

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in food	FDA Everything Added to Food
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in food	FDA Food Additive Status

CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review). 2006. CIR Compendium, containing abstracts, discussions, and conclusions of CIR cosmetic ingredient safety assessments. Washington DC.
EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2012. PubMed online scientific bibliography data. http://www.pubmed.gov.
FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration). 2008. EAFUS [Everything Added to Food]: A Food Additive Database. FDA Office of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) 2006. Food Additive Status List. Downloaded from http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/%7Edms/opa-appa.html, Oct 16, 2006.

Understanding scores

Cosmetics and personal care products are not required to be tested for safety before being allowed on the market. The Skin Deep® scoring system was designed to help the public understand whether a product is safe to use or whether it contains ingredients of concern.

Every product and ingredient in Skin Deep gets a two-part score – one for hazard and one for data availability. The safest products score well by both measures, with a low hazard rating and a fair or better data availability rating.

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES

Hazard score

The Skin Deep ingredient hazard score, from 1 to 10, reflects known and suspected hazards linked to the ingredients. The EWG VERIFIED™ mark means a product meets EWG’s strictest criteria for transparency and health.

Data availability

The Skin Deep data availability rating reflects the number of scientific studies about the product or ingredient in the published scientific literature.

NONE LIMITED FAIR GOOD ROBUST

Low Availability

Moderate Availability

High Availability