Sodium Lauryl Sulfate vs. Sodium Coco Sulfate. Study of the Safety of Use Anionic Surfactants with Respect to Their Interaction with the Skin

Abstract

AbstractAs a result of growing awareness, consumers are increasingly interested in products that are safe on the skin and environmentally-friendly. This is one of the most important reasons for the very rapid development of the natural cosmetics segment which has been observed for several years now. Among the most commonly used anionic surfactants of natural origin are sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and sodium coco sulfate (SCS). As there are no unambiguous reports on the safety of using SCS, in this study an attempt was made to evaluate the effect of SCS on the skin. The results of the determination of the skin irritation potential (zein value) indicate that the analyzed parameter is approximately 15 % lower in SCS than in SLS. SCS has a stronger ability to interact with epidermal lipids and cause their elution from the skin, which in turn may damage the protective epidermal barrier. The results obtained during the evaluation of the effect produced by the analyzed substances on the metabolism of human keratinocytes (HaCaT) show that after 4 h of incubation with the studied groups of compounds there was a significant decrease in cell proliferation. The highest decrease in cell metabolism was demonstrated for SLS.