skincarecheck
INCI ingredient

Sodium Lactate

The sodium salt of lactic acid, a humectant that also adjusts pH.

What it triggers

  • Vegan originNot sureplant or 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

Sodium lactate is part of the skin's own natural moisturising factor, which is why brands add it to moisturisers, cleansers and bar soaps to help skin hold water. It also keeps a formula's pH steady.

CosIng lists it as buffering, humectant and keratolytic. Lactic acid is usually made by fermenting sugars, but it can also come from milk. The label does not say which, so the vegan check says not sure unless the product is marked vegan. It affects none of the other five checks.

Functions: humectant, buffering

Products with Sodium Lactate

in 331 products

Showing 24 of 331 products with this ingredient, most scanned first.

In the EU ingredient database

Functions listed by CosIng
  • buffering
  • humectant
  • keratolytic
  • buffering: Stabilising the pH of an aqueous medium in a narrow range even if an acid or base is added. Altering and/or maintaining a cosmetic product's pH at the desired level.
  • humectant: Retaining and/or preserving the moisture in a product during use.
  • keratolytic: Helping to eliminate the dead cells of the stratum corneum.

CAS 72-17-3 / 867-56-1 · EC 200-772-0 / 212-762-3

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