Nowadays, there are so much misinformation out there about sulfate-cleansers that consumers get confused due to the misleading of marketing. A lot of consumers opt for sulfate-free cleansers in the first place without understanding the fact behind it.
Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and Sodium laureth sulfate (SLES) are anionic surfactants. Read more about surfactant groups here.
SLS
Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) are manufactured from fatty alcohol and chlorosulphonic acid or sulphur trioxide, and then the acid ester is neutralized with strong base to form SLS.
SLS are used as primary surfactants in shampoo, shower gels, and bath products. The anionic surfactants with their effective cleansing capacity can react with skin’s proteins and cause skin irritations. However in formulation, SLS are used with other milder co-surfactants such as betaines, glucosides…, in rinsed off products. Basically, when different surfactants are used, they form mixed micelles which improve the mildness of the product. Next time, when you see a sulfate-cleanser, check if the label includes more than one surfactant. I’m sure it does.
SLES
Sodium laureth sulfate (SLES) are manufactured using the same process as SLS, but based on a fatty alcohol ethoxylate which is more hydrophilic than the corresponding fatty alcohol. The fatty alcohol ethoxylate is a condensation product of the fatty alcohol and ethylene oxide. The addition of ethylene oxide (EO) increases the mildness of the surfactant (The molecule becomes bigger, bulkier, and can barely penetrate the skin to cause irritation).
SLES are milder than SLS, but still receive the same buzz as SLS because they have sulfate in their names.
Both SLS and SLES fall under the sulfate-free claims. This alkyl sulfate category includes a variety of surfactants that do their good jobs as cleansing agents. They aren’t really the evil according to their bad reputation if you take into account the whole formulation.
But if your skin is sensitive to sulfates surfactants; again, depending on personal preference and experience, there are always sulfate-free products to go for.
Hope you find this information helpful!
