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sodium lauryl sulfate

sodium lauryl sulfate

4.6
A chemical used in many shampoos and soaps that makes foam and can irritate skin
  • noun
  • /ˈsoʊdiəm ˈlɔːrɪl ˈsʌlfeɪt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : lauril sulfato de sodio
  • Sodium lauryl sulfate is a surfactant found in many commercially available soap products.

Examples

  • The main sudsing ingredient in store detergents is sodium lauryl sulfate.

    Blog text (18)
  • Also, sodium lauryl sulfate is a common ingredient in soaps and body products of all types.

    Blog text (18)
  • Many shampoos contain sodium lauryl sulfate because it effectively removes oil and dirt.

  • You can find sodium lauryl sulfate in many household cleaning products due to its grease-cutting properties.

  • Sodium lauryl sulfate is a surfactant found in many commercially available soap products.

Synonyms

SLS
vssodium lauryl sulfate
  • Specialized
1 7.2

A cleaning chemical in soap, shampoo and toothpaste that can cause skin or mouth irritation

is the full chemical name used for the same effective but irritating detergent

Surface Forms

Morphology

sodium + lauryl + sulfate

The phrase is a systematic chemical name: a B1 learner who knows 'sodium', 'lauryl', and 'sulfate' can derive that it is the sodium salt of a lauryl sulfate (i.e., compositionally transparent). However, its practical meaning as a detergent/surfactant used in shampoos and its potential for skin irritation are specialized, usage-level facts that are not predictable from the constituent words alone, and 'lauryl' is a technical morpheme unfamiliar in general vocabulary.

Etymology

Sodium lauryl sulfate is a name that describes its parts: sodium is a common 'salt', lauryl comes from a fatty oil, and sulfate is the part that helps make 'foam'. So the name tells us it is a kind of 'salt' made from a fat that 'cleans' and foams, which is why it is used in many shampoos and can sometimes irritate the skin.