Caredermis

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate

Severity 6/10EditorialComedogenic 5/5

surfactant · foaming agent · also known as sls, sodium dodecyl sulfate

Is Sodium Lauryl Sulfate safe?

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate carries moderate concerns worth knowing about (irritation).

In plain language

A powerful foaming cleanser so reliably irritating that dermatology studies use it as the standard positive control for skin irritation. Fine for many in rinse-off use, but a poor match for dry, sensitive or eczema-prone skin.

A Caredermis plain-language explanation to help you read the label — not a regulator statement. The sourced facts are the classifications and status shown on this page.

Documented concerns

Concerns marked Editorialare Caredermis' own dermatological review; the rest are drawn from official data — see the cited sources ↓

Irritation

Editorial6/10

The reference irritant used in dermatology research; strips barrier lipids.

Official regulatory status

Pulled directly from official regulatory datasets and expert reviews — not our own judgement.

CIR: safe as used (with qualifications)

Guidance by skin profile

Caredermis editorial guidance based on the concerns above — checked against the official records on every build, but not itself a regulator statement.

  • Sensitive skinBest avoided
  • Oily & acne-proneNo specific concern
  • Dry skinBest avoided
  • PregnancyNo specific concern
  • Babies & kidsUse with caution
  • Eczema-proneBest avoided

Sources

Each authority below is shown only because our ingested copy of its data lists Sodium Lauryl Sulfate — not because we asserted it. Follow a link to verify the classification or regulation directly.

CIR conclusion from the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Quick Reference Table — cir-safety.org (snapshot in data/sources/)(point-in-time snapshot; CIR's live record may have been updated since).

See our methodology for how these map to concern levels. Informational only — not medical advice.

Products in our library containing Sodium Lauryl Sulfate

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