Sodium Lauryl Sulphate is a chemical agent that’s used for cleaning – mostly to create foam, or the lather/ suds we’re all used to and look out for. Years ago, I used to think the more soapy or foamy a product (shampoo etc) the better quality. It took some getting used to, honestly the first time I used bar shampoo I thought there was no way I would fall in love; there was no rich lather, with that foam layer all over my hair – so how on earth could I be clean?! Boy how times change.
I used to have bad back acne – backne; I have particularly sensitive skin (probably explains my journey into DIY natural beauty!). Thanks to pinterest I stumbled across a post about Sodium Lauryl Sulphate and how it can irritate eyes & skin, that’s when I started to realise how many products contain SLS. Though there is some evidence to suggest it is drying to the skin, there’s no danger alarm going off, like there was that time Trump suggested we ingest bleach…
SLS is deemed as ‘safe to use’ by many regulatory bodies – so I’m not trying to hate on it – I just chose to avoid the use of SLS in Suds Lure products, because I use them myself!
But talk to me Alys, why are you using SLES?
It’s important I clarify that SLES IS derived from SLS – I haven’t gone mad – SLES (or Sodium Laureth Sulfate) goes through a process called ethoxylation that changes the compound (turns out any ingredient ending in ‘-eth’ has been through ethoxylation).
This process means SLES is safe to use on skin, it doesn’t strip the moisture out of your hair or skin and is much gentler to use on our bodies.
Science!
