Sodium cocoyl isethionate, sodium methyl isethionate & other isethionate compounds

Sodium cocoyl isethionate & sodium methyl isethionate

Sodium cocoyl isethionate

Sodium cocoyl isethionate is a mild, soap-free cleansing agent derived from coconut oil.

The ingredient is created by combining isethionic acid, a natural sulfonic acid, with fatty acids from coconut oil. The mixture is then heated to remove excess water and distilled to remove any unnecessary fatty acids, resulting in a fine white powder.

The most common route is the reaction of ethylene oxide with aqueous sodium bisulfite, producing the sodium salt (sodium isethionate).

Ethylene oxide + aqueous sodium bisulfite → sodium isethionate (sodium salt of isethionic acid)

What does this mean? Sodium cocoyl isethionate is an ethoxylated ingredient- meaning it is contaminated with 1,4 dioxane.

There is another method of creating sodium isethionate but it has since been discontinued due to being largely unsafe for workers and yields unreliable results.

Sodium cocoyl isethionate & sodium methyl isethionate can be filtered and purified to remove 1,4 dioxane/ethylene oxide however this is largely up to the manufacturer so you will want to ask a brand where they source theirs to verify if it’s free of contamination.

https://www.chemicalbook.com/ChemicalProductProperty_EN_CB6403382.htm

https://chemistscorner.com/cosmeticsciencetalk/discussion/ethoxylated-carinogenic/

https://bubbleandbee.com/blog/is-sodium-cocoyl-isethionate-safe/

https://www.makingcosmetics.com/SRF-SODCOISETH-02.html?lang=en_US

https://www.cosmebio.org/en/reports/sci-sodium-cocoyl-isethionate-surfactant-ingredient-greenwashing/

https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Sodium-Cocoyl-Isethionate#section=UNII