Introduction: Surfactant Advances & SLS’s Enduring Role

Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) remains one of the most used surfactants in home care, industrial, and personal care products, despite the availability of newer options like SLES, SLSA, and amino acid-based surfactants. While many alternatives promise improved gentleness or sustainability, SLS’s sweeping presence is underpinned by decades of reliability and formulation familiarity. Studies point out that newer surfactants must match SLS’s performance and affordability to be widely adopted, and most have yet to surpass its unique balance.​

Performance, Foaming, and Cleaning Power

SLS’s primary advantage lies in its powerful cleansing and foaming properties, which remain difficult for newer surfactants to consistently match. It delivers dense, stable foam that consumers expect in shampoos, cleaning products, and detergents, while excelling at oil, dirt, and stain removal in a broad range of applications. Multiple comparative reviews reveal that, aside from more potential for skin irritation, SLS outpaces milder surfactants like AOS and sarcosinate in terms of raw performance and industrial effectiveness, especially in heavy-duty or high-degreasing contexts.​

Cost, Availability, and Manufacturing Benefits

SLS is derived from widely available fatty alcohols, making its raw material supply stable and its price highly attractive for mass-market producers. Newer surfactants, particularly mild or eco-friendly variants, often come at a premium cost and with more variable supply chains, which can be challenging for large-scale formulations. For many manufacturers, the cost-effectiveness and predictability of SLS support high-volume margin management and easy global sourcing, while alternatives require validation for each application and batch.​

Regulatory Consistency, Formulation Legacy, and Drawbacks

Global regulatory bodies such as FDA and EMA have standardized profiles and clear maximum concentration guidelines for SLS in cosmetics, pharma, and industrial use, making compliance straightforward. Its robust legacy of use means manufacturers rarely face unforeseen compatibility, stability, or efficacy issues when switching between product lines or geographies. However, SLS’s potential for irritation and environmental persistence does lead some brands to innovate or blend with milder surfactants when targeting sensitive markets.​

SLS in Specialist and Industrial Applications

For heavy-duty cleaning and manufacturing applications, SLS’s aggressive cleaning ability and thermal stability still outpace newer, milder surfactants. In pharmaceuticals, it enhances solubility and bioavailability for poorly soluble drugs and supports antimicrobial effectiveness. While specialist surfactants like sarcosinate, SLES, or SLSA offer unique benefits for certain niches, SLS remains the backbone for mainstream industrial and personal care products due to its repeatable performance, affordability, and universally recognized properties.