“Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate?”Here!
Appears in 1 scanned product.
In personal care
An anionic surfactant made by combining coconut-derived fatty acids with isethionic acid, a small, water-loving molecule. It is a solid, waxy material rather than a liquid.
Why it’s used
Prized for producing dense, creamy lather while being notably gentler on skin than many sulfate detergents. It is the backbone surfactant in most syndet (synthetic detergent) cleansing bars marketed as soap-free.
What the evidence says
We haven’t found a source for this one that you can open and check, so we’re not summarizing the evidence.
Look it up yourself
We would rather point you at the shelf than summarize something you can’t check. These are the same places we search:
- PubChem — what the substance is, chemically — names, synonyms and structure
- PubMed — every paper indexed by the US National Library of Medicine that names it
These are starting points, not our findings — we haven’t run them for you. A substance whose name is also an ordinary word (“Heart”, “Alanine”, “Water”) will return papers that are not about the ingredient at all.
Context
Used in rinse-off cleansing bars and liquid washes at moderate concentrations. Its mildness is one reason it is favored for sensitive-skin and baby cleansing products.
Rumors
Sodium cocoyl isethionate protects the skin barrier.
We haven’t found evidence strong enough to support this or rule it out.
What was measured is not yet noted.
Who’s saying this
- Paula's Choice — a brand: sells its own skincare products
How we know who this is
- “Copyright © Paula's Choice GENERAL CONDITIONS PRIVACY POLICY COOKIE POLICY COOKIE SETTINGS” (their page)
- “Our formulas do what they say, every single time.” (their page)
- Paula's Choice — a brand: sells its own skincare products
Sodium cocoyl isethionate can contain carcinogenic ethylene oxide and 1,4-dioxane residues from its manufacture.
We haven’t found evidence strong enough to support this or rule it out.
What was measured is not yet noted.
Who’s saying this
- ireadlabelsforyou.com — we haven’t checked who runs this site yet
Sodium cocoyl isethionate cleanses hair without stripping moisture, unlike sulfates.
We haven’t found evidence strong enough to support this or rule it out.
What was measured is not yet noted.
Who’s saying this
- amika — a brand: sells haircare products
How we know who this is
- “shop amika shampoos, conditioners, masks + stylers for every hair type, cruelty-free and formulated without sulfates or parabens.” (their page)
- amika — a brand: sells haircare products
Sodium cocoyl isethionate is very gentle on the skin and scalp.
We haven’t found evidence strong enough to support this or rule it out.
What was measured is not yet noted.
Who’s saying this
- lush.com — we couldn’t open the site to see who runs it
Sodium cocoyl isethionate is suitable for sensitive skin and baby care products.
We haven’t found evidence strong enough to support this or rule it out.
What was measured is not yet noted.
Who’s saying this
- newdirectionsaromatics.com — we couldn’t open the site to see who runs it