What is it?
A cleansing and foaming agent made from lauric acid, a fatty acid abundant in coconut oil. Like cocamidopropyl betaine, it is amphoteric: its molecule carries both positive and negative charges. It is used in shampoos, including baby shampoos, face washes, eye makeup removers, body washes and bubble baths, where it cleanses, adds foam and conditions hair.
Key information
- In June 2026 the CIR Expert Panel concluded that sodium lauroamphoacetate and 10 related ingredients are safe as used when formulated to be non-sensitizing.
- Human patch tests of products containing it found no irritation or allergic reactions, though some people, mostly with eczema, have developed allergies to it.
- Leftover amines from manufacturing may cause allergies and could form nitrosamines, so the Panel says it should not be used with nitrosating agents.
More information
Sodium lauroamphoacetate is made by reacting lauric acid or coconut fatty acids with aminoethylethanolamine (AEEA), which forms a ring-shaped intermediate called an imidazoline. The ring is opened and the product is reacted with sodium chloroacetate. Most commercial amphoacetates are sold as solutions containing 30 to 60 percent of the ingredient, and leftover AEEA has been measured at 4.9 to 1,130 parts per million, along with amide byproducts. The Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) reported it in 582 products in 2024 FDA registration data, at up to 9.9 percent in rinse-off products and about 1 percent in leave-on products.
The CIR Expert Panel reviewed it with 10 related amphoacetates and amphopropionates. It had low toxicity when swallowed by rats, did not cause genetic damage in laboratory tests, and did not affect developing young in rat studies at up to 1,000 mg/kg a day. In people, a 0.5 percent solution caused no irritation or allergic reactions in a repeated-insult patch test in 99 volunteers, products containing it gave the same result in other patch tests, and a facial cleanser with 2.7 percent caused no irritation in a 4-week use test. Allergic reactions have been reported, mostly in people with a history of eczema, and some of them also reacted to AEEA. In June 2026 the Panel concluded these ingredients are safe as used when formulated to be non-sensitizing, which may be based on a quantitative risk assessment.
Because leftover amines may cause skin allergy and could form nitrosamines under the wrong conditions, the Panel said these ingredients should not be used in products containing N-nitrosating agents, the same advice it gives for cocamidopropyl hydroxysultaine. It is not a sulfate. Related ingredients on labels include sodium cocoamphoacetate and disodium cocoamphodiacetate.
Sources: Cosmetic Ingredient Review: Safety assessment of fatty amphocarboxylates (tentative report, 2025); Cosmetic Ingredient Review: Post-meeting announcement, June 2026 findings
