Teach Soap

What is the difference between Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Sodium Laureth Sulfate?

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Amber D that'd be me!

While they're both surfactants, SLES is like SLS' more gentle cousin.

There's some scientific differences also if you're more interested in that.

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Genny

What are the pros and cons to each? I am still a bit foggy on the subject

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Amber D that'd be me!

Well really they can be used interchangeably because they do the same things.

These blogs has a wealth of scientific information on sulfates (plus a bazillion other things):
http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/search?q=sulfate
http://personalcaretruth.com/?s=sulfate

SLS
Pros: Inexpensive
Cons: Well known skin irritant to people with sensitive skin, associated with a huge cancer myth

SLES
Pros: Known to be gentler than SLS
Cons: Costs a little more

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Genny

Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate (SLSA) is a gentler alternative to Sodium Lauryl or Laureth Sulfate.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Ahhhhhh, I see. Thank you all!

I have made a small batch of MP soap out of pure glycerin and added coconut and palm oil to it as well as fragrance, but I didn't get much lather and the soap was rather hard. I thought maybe I should add some SLS to it to at least get more lather. Is this a good idea or no?

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Amber D that'd be me!

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

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Amber D that'd be me!

Where did you get the base? Is it synthetic based or does it have more natural ingredients?

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Not knowing any better I got it from Hobby Lobby. Cost me quite a bit more than my goats milk Looks like a lot of synthetic ingredients. After my first batch is when I decided to look more into how to make soaps. I figured there was a lot more I needed to know to get a quality soap and low and behold I was right! There is sooooo much for me to learn and I appreciate all the help I am getting here!

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Amber D that'd be me!

Welcome to the forums!

There are big differences in base quality, especially from Hobby Lobby & Michaels. My favorites are the . They are excellent soaps. There is a that includes 1 lb of each of the seven types they carry for $20. Awesome to have around even if you're a CP soaper.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

I bought a goat milk base from Bulk Apothecary but haven't used it yet. It is on back order. Wish I had found this site first I didn't know the low reviews people have for BA. Had I known they pull the back order thing all the time and had (historically) awful customer service, I would not have bought from them.

The products I DID receive I like though. Bought lip balm base and flavor oils from them and had good results.

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Amber D that'd be me!

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Genny