Database/Cleansing/Disodium Stearyl Sulfosuccinate
Mostly natural · ISO 16128

Is Disodium Stearyl Sulfosuccinate natural?

Mostly. Sulfosuccinate half-ester: the fatty hydrophobe is oleochemical and both sodium counter-ions and the sulfonate group are mineral-derived, so all count as natural; the four-carbon succinate backbone comes from petrochemical maleic anhydride. Same convention as Disodium Lauryl Sulfosuccinate.

INCI nameDisodium Stearyl Sulfosuccinate
CAS65277-59-0
FormulaC22H40Na2O7S · 494.6 Da
FunctionCleansing · Foam Boosting Surfactant
FeedstockFatty alcohol or fatty-acid alkanolamide from coconut, palm,…

How we scored it

Stearyl-O C18H37O 269.5 Da (natural) + SO3Na 103.0 Da + Na 23.0 Da (mineral, natural) = 395.5 Da; succinate backbone C4H3O3 99.1 Da (maleic anhydride) = 99.1 Da petrochemical; total 494.6 Da → 395.5/494.6 = 0.80.
What counts. ISO 16128-2 scores the atoms that remain in the final ingredient. Reagents, solvents, catalysts and protecting groups used during manufacture leave no mass behind and are not counted.

Where it comes from

Fatty alcohol or fatty-acid alkanolamide from coconut, palm, tallow or vegetable oil reacted with maleic anhydride, then sulfonated with sodium bisulfite.

In plain English

A mild cleansing and foam-boosting ingredient made from a fatty alcohol derived from vegetable oil or tallow, joined to a synthetic acid backbone. Used in gentle washes and shampoos.

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Structure

2D structure of Disodium Stearyl Sulfosuccinate

disodium;2-octadecyl-2-sulfobutanedioate

PubChem CID 21889171 ↗

References

  1. 1ISO 16128-1:2016 and ISO 16128-2:2017 — Guidelines on technical definitions and criteria for natural and organic cosmetic ingredients and products. ISO, Geneva.
  2. 2Disodium Stearyl Sulfosuccinate. PubChem CID 21889171. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3DISODIUM STEARYL SULFOSUCCINATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4DISODIUM STEARYL SULFOSUCCINATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=DISODIUM%20STEARYL%20SULFOSUCCINATE