How It's Made
Key facts
- Name on labels (INCI)
- Sodium Laureth Sulfate
- Also called
- SLES, Sodium lauryl ether sulfate, Sodium laureth-2 sulfate
- Grade to ask for
- SLES 70% (2EO)
The workhorse foaming cleanser, made from coconut or palm fatty alcohol. Supplied as a thick 70% paste.
What it does
- Primary cleanser
- Surrounds oil and dirt so water can rinse them away.
- Foaming agent
- Produces the rich lather consumers associate with cleaning, at low cost.
- Thickens with salt
- With co-surfactants such as cocamidopropyl betaine, SLES solutions thicken when salt is added, which is how many shampoos reach their viscosity.
Products on How It's Made that use sodium laureth sulfate
| Product | Its role there |
|---|---|
| Foaming cleanser | Main foamer. A small amount of a stronger foamer to give a rich, stable foam at low cost. |
| Shampoo | Main cleanser. The primary cleanser. Its molecules surround oil and dirt so water can rinse them away, and it produces the dense lather people associate with clean hair. |
| Body wash | Main cleanser. The main foaming cleanser. It lifts oil and dirt from skin and gives the rich lather people expect from a shower gel. |
On How It's Made, SLES is the main cleanser in shampoo, body wash and foaming face cleanser. It is also used in household detergents and some industrial cleaners.
Grades and specifications
- SLES 70%
- A thick paste with 2 ethylene-oxide units on average (2EO); economical to ship and diluted at the factory.
- SLES 28%
- A pourable solution that is easier to handle but carries more water.
- Low-dioxane grades
- Stripped to reduce trace 1,4-dioxane, increasingly specified by brand owners and export markets.
Handling, safety and regulation
Concentrated SLES irritates the skin and eyes, so it is handled with gloves and eye protection. The 70% paste becomes very viscous and needs the right mixing technique to dilute without forming gel lumps. Because ethoxylation can leave trace 1,4-dioxane, many producers vacuum- or steam-strip it.
SLES is permitted in cosmetics in major markets. Finished cosmetics in Nigeria require NAFDAC registration.
Where sodium laureth sulfate comes from
Lauryl alcohol comes from palm kernel or coconut oil, much of it processed in South-East Asia. It is ethoxylated and sulfated by specialist surfactant producers, then shipped in drums or IBCs. Nigerian liquid-soap and shampoo makers typically buy SLES through chemical distributors.
Sourcing sodium laureth sulfate through Matta
Send Matta a request with the grade, quantity and delivery location you need. For the wider category, see Matta's industrial chemicals page.
Listings found on matta.trade, read 15 Oct 2026. Prices are a snapshot, not live; the listing is always the final word. Different suppliers and grades: compare prices only where the unit matches.
Cocamidopropyl betaine
Glycerin
Citric acid
Sodium benzoate