Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate

Sodium C14-16 olefin sulfonate is an anionic surfactant used in skin care, hair care and home good products due to its cleansing and foaming abilities. Anionic surfactants have water-loving and oil-loving polar ends, making them versatile and highly effective for use in rinse-off products such as facial and body cleansers. But...some of them can work too well, harming skin in the process. As a powerful surfactant, sodium C14-16 olefin sulfonate can disrupt the skin barrier, creating an uptick in water loss from skin’s uppermost layers. Together, this can cause dryness and sensitization even from brief exposures. Overall, there are many gentler cleansing agents to choose from when formulating a skin care product, so we generally advise avoiding this one if it’s among the primary surfactants in a face wash or shampoo. While not recommended as a primary surfactant in skin care products, sodium C14-16 olefin sulfonate can be used at low concentrations in combination with milder surfactants to boost the foaming capacity of the finished product.