Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate
Surfactant · INCI: Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate
Reviewed by Elysiana Aguilar, master esthetician
How we read it
Not a pore-clogger. Considered safe for acne-prone skin.
Is Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate comedogenic?
No. Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate isn't considered pore-clogging, and we read it as safe to use on acne-prone skin. That doesn't make it right for everyone, but congestion isn't the thing to watch for with it.
Why we read it this way
Sodium lauroyl sarcosinate is a foaming cleanser formed from lauric acid and sarcosine, an amino acid derivative, and it brings a full lather to formulas that leave sulfates out. We flag the sulfate it is confused with and not this one, so we read it as not pore-clogging.
The nuance
It is often mistaken for sodium lauryl sulfate, a cleanser we flag. The names are close, but this one carries no sulfate group. Lauric acid is also flagged as a raw fatty acid, but here it is bound into a cleanser that washes off.
Where it shows up
Sulfate-free shampoos, shaving foams, body washes and foaming face washes. It is also a common foaming agent in toothpaste.
Related ingredients
One ingredient rarely tells the whole story. The acne ingredient checker reads everything in a product at once, and there is more on what comedogenic means. Also in the guides: The types of acne lesions.