INCI ingredient

Laureth-4

A mild cleansing and emulsifying agent made from lauryl alcohol and a small amount of ethylene oxide.

What it triggers

Vegan originYesno animal source
FragranceNonot a perfume ingredient
ParabenNonot a preservative of this family
SulfateNonot a sulfate surfactant
SiliconeNonot a silicone
AlcoholNonot a drying alcohol

What it does

Laureth-4 is lauryl alcohol (usually from coconut or palm kernel oil) reacted with about four units of ethylene oxide. That makes it a surfactant that helps oils and fragrance disperse in water, so it appears in shampoos, body washes, hair sprays and perfumes.

CosIng lists it as antistatic, emulsifying and cleansing. It is a laureth, not a sulfate, so the sulfate-free check ignores it. It affects none of the six checks.

Functions: surfactant, emulsifying

Products with Laureth-4

in 325 products

Showing 24 of 325 products with this ingredient, most scanned first.

In the EU ingredient database

Functions listed by CosIng

antistatic
surfactant - emulsifying
fragrance
surfactant - cleansing

antistatic: Preventing and/or reducing static electricity by neutralising electrical charge on surfaces.
surfactant - emulsifying: Helping suspensions or dispersions of liquids in a second liquid by reducing the surface tension of the substances to be emulsified.
fragrance: Imparting an odour or taste. Creating a perceivable pleasant smell and/or masking a bad smell.
surfactant - cleansing: Wetting body surfaces, emulsifying or solubilizing oils, and suspending soil (generally, such ingredients contribute to the foaming and lathering properties of cleansing products).

CAS 5274-68-0 / 9002-92-0 / 68439-50-9 · EC 226-097-1 / 500-002-6 / 500-213-3

EU regulation

Not on a restricted-substances annex. Listed as an allowed cosmetic ingredient.

Source: CosIng, European Commission. Informative, no legal value; the regulation text is the reference.

Classification from the INCI name; product lists from Open Beauty Facts.Report a mistake