skincarecheck
INCI ingredient

Lauric Acid

A fatty acid from coconut and palm kernel oil, used to make soap and creamy foam.

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

Lauric acid is the main fatty acid in coconut oil. In bar soaps and shaving creams it reacts with an alkali to produce a fast, dense lather; in lotions a small amount helps emulsify.

CosIng lists it as cleansing and emulsifying. Cosmetic lauric acid is plant-derived and affects none of the six checks.

Functions: cleansing, emulsifying

Products with Lauric Acid

in 257 products

Showing 24 of 257 products with this ingredient, most scanned first.

In the EU ingredient database

Functions listed by CosIng
  • cleansing
  • surfactant - emulsifying
  • surfactant - cleansing
  • cleansing: Helping to keep the body surface clean.
  • surfactant - emulsifying: Helping suspensions or dispersions of liquids in a second liquid by reducing the surface tension of the substances to be emulsified.
  • 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 143-07-7 · EC 205-582-1

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