Cosmetics & Personal Care Ingredients

Four anions cover most of the world’s detergent formulations: SDBS (sodium linear alkylbenzene sulfonate), LABSA (the acid form), AOS (sodium alpha-olefin sulfonate) and SLES (sodium laureth sulfate). They are often quoted side by side as if they were interchangeable, but they differ in form, in cost structure, in hard-water tolerance and in what they do

A detergent powder is not a bag of surfactant; it is a blend of surfactant, builder, alkali, bleach, polymer and enzyme that has to survive blending, packing, storage and a wash cycle without any of those components destroying the others. SDBS (CAS 25155-30-0) is the anionic surfactant at the centre of that blend, and the

Sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate, universally abbreviated to SDBS and also called LAS-Na, is the sodium salt of linear alkylbenzene sulfonic acid and the single most widely used anionic surfactant in the world. It is the surfactant that made synthetic laundry powder possible, and it remains the benchmark against which every other anionic is judged on cost, detergency

PVP in Detergents and Personal Care Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP, CAS 9003-39-8) has two well-known consumer uses: as a dye-transfer inhibitor in laundry detergents and as a film former and fixative in personal-care products. Both rely on the same property – PVP’s affinity for dyes and for surfaces, and its ability to form clear films. Detergents: dye-transfer

AOS vs LABSA and Betaine: Selecting a Hard-Water Surfactant When a formulation has to work in hard water – or when mildness matters – formulators reach for AOS, LABSA or a betaine. They are very different molecules with very different economics, and the right answer is usually a blend. This page compares them for selection

AOS in Household and Industrial Cleaning Sodium alpha-olefin sulfonate (AOS, CAS 68439-57-6) is a building block of modern detergents. Its hard-water tolerance, rich foam and sulfonate stability make it useful in liquid and powder laundry detergents, dishwash, hard-surface cleaners and industrial cleaning – and it works in the high-hardness water that degrades cheaper anionics. This

How to Buy AOS: 92% Powder and 34-36% Liquid Grades Sodium alpha-olefin sulfonate (AOS, CAS 68439-57-6) is bought in two forms – a 92% powder and a 34-36% liquid – and the specification decides whether a batch performs in your formulation. This guide covers the parameters to confirm, how to choose between powder and liquid,

AOS vs SLES, LAS and SLS: Choosing an Anionic Surfactant Anionic surfactants do the cleaning and foaming in most detergents and personal-care products, and the four workhorses are AOS, LAS, SLES and SLS. They are not interchangeable – each trades cost against hard-water tolerance, mildness and stability. This page compares them so you can shortlist

AOS in Personal Care: Shampoos, Cleansers and Oral Care Sodium alpha-olefin sulfonate (AOS, CAS 68439-57-6) is one of the most useful anionic surfactants in personal care. It foams richly, tolerates hard water and is milder than the older sulfates – and because it is a sulfonate made without ethoxylation, it brings none of the 1,4-dioxane

Sodium Alpha-Olefin Sulfonate (AOS, CAS 68439-57-6): Properties, Production and Applications Sodium alpha-olefin sulfonate (AOS) is an anionic surfactant made by sulfonating an alpha-olefin with sulfur trioxide. It is a workhorse in personal care and household cleaning because it foams well, tolerates hard water and is milder than the older sulfonates – and it also plays