Is sodium laureth sulfate (SLES) made from coconut?

Sodium laureth sulfate starts from the same lauryl alcohol as SLS, which is made from coconut oil, palm kernel oil or petroleum. It then goes through one more step that makes it milder. The label never says which source was used.

It is the main cleanser in most ordinary shampoos, shower gels and liquid hand soaps.

More often than not, this one turns out to be coconut or palm kernel, so it holds a product’s verdict open on its own.

On a label: sodium laureth sulfate · sodium laureth sulphate · sodium lauryl ether sulfate · laureth sulfato de sodio · lauril eter sulfato de sodio · sles

Products we checked that contain it

7 of the 115 products in the registry. Each one read off the packet by a person, with the date.

What the companies said

Where a company has told us what plant their version comes from, it is on their page, quoted and dated.

• L’OréalWaitingL’Oréal owns L’Oréal Paris, L’Oréal Professionnel, Kérastase, Maybelline and Garnier. None of them publishes a working consumer contact form or email for Central America, so on 1 October 2026 one email went to the only address the group’s Central America office prints on its sites, asking it to pass the question to consumer care: which plant the glycerin, fatty alcohols, caprylyl glycol and other fatty-acid ingredients in these products are made from, and the full ingredient list of Magic Retouch, whose can carries none. No reply yet.

The whole family: Sodium lauryl / laureth sulfate (SLS / SLES)
Related names: Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS)

Whether this matters for you depends on which kind of coconut allergy you have →

Check a label for this and everything else →

All of coconut’s names

Reactions to refined derivatives vary from person to person. This list helps you ask better questions; your allergist decides what you avoid. Educational only, not medical advice. Always confirm with your allergist.