Characteristics
- INCI
- Sodium Chloride
- Ru.
- Salt
- CAS
-
7647-14-5
This is the substance number in the Chemical Abstracts Service registry. The CAS number uniquely identifies a substance regardless of language, trade name, or synonyms.
- EC
-
231-598-3
This is the substance number in the European chemical identification system (EC number), used in European regulatory databases including ECHA/CosIng.
- IUPAC
- Sodium Chloride
- Functions
- bulking, masking, oral care, viscosity controlling
Who it's for
Description
Sodium chloride is the fancy name of salt. Normal, everyday table salt.
If (similar to us) you are in the weird habit of reading the label on your shower gel while taking a shower, you might have noticed that sodium chloride is almost always on the ingredient list. The reason for this is that salt acts as a fantastic thickener in cleansing formulas created with ionic cleansing agents (aka surfactants) such as Sodium Laureth Sulfate. A couple of percents (typically 1-3%) turns a runny surfactant solution into a nice gel texture.
If you are into chemistry (if not, we understand, just skip this paragraph), the reason is that electrolytes (you know, the Na+ and Cl- ions) screen the electrostatic repulsion between the head groups of ionic surfactants and thus support the formation of long shaped micelles (instead of spherical ones) that entangle like spaghetti, and viola, a gel is formed. However, too much of it causes the phenomenon called "salting out", and the surfactant solution goes runny again.
Other than that, salt also works as an emulsion stabilizer in water-in-oil emulsions, that is when water droplets are dispersed in the outer oil (or silicone) phase. And last but not least, when salt is right at the first spot of the ingredient list (and is not dissolved), the product is usually a body scrub where salt is the physical exfoliating agent.
Frequently Asked Questions about Sodium Chloride
What does sodium chloride do in shampoo and other hair products?
Is sodium chloride bad for skin or hair?
Why is sodium chloride added to cosmetic products at all?
Is sodium chloride the same as table salt in cosmetics?
Should I avoid sodium chloride if I have sensitive or curly hair?
Products with Sodium Chloride (21 909 total)
Most often found in Dove products (354 items)
