Pet Safety / Compounds / Sodium lauryl sulfate

Is Sodium lauryl sulfate safe for dogs and cats?

Elevated risk for pets

GHS Danger classification. Dogs lack metabolic pathways to detoxify many synthetic chemicals.

What is sodium lauryl sulfate?

The IUPAC name is sodium dodecyl sulfate.

Also known as: sodium dodecyl sulfate, Sodium dodecylsulfate, Sodium lauryl sulphate, Sodium dodecyl sulphate.

IUPAC name
sodium dodecyl sulfate
CAS number
151-21-3
Molecular formula
C12H25NaO4S
Molecular weight
288.38 g/mol
SMILES
[Na+].CCCCCCCCCCCCOS([O-])(=O)=O
PubChem CID
3423265

Risk for dogs

Elevated risk

GHS Danger classification. Dogs lack metabolic pathways to detoxify many synthetic chemicals.

Risk for cats

Elevated risk

GHS Danger classification. Cats lack metabolic pathways to detoxify many synthetic chemicals.

Regulatory consensus

1 regulatory bodyhas classified Sodium lauryl sulfate.

AgencyYearClassificationNotes
EPA CTX / Genetox—Genotoxicity: positive (Ames: positive, 6 positive / 8 negative reports)

Regulators apply different standards of evidence — animal-data weighting, exposure-pattern assumptions, epidemiological power thresholds — which is why two scientific bodies can review the same data and reach different conclusions. The disagreement is the data.

Where pets encounter sodium lauryl sulfate

  • Consumer Products — Toothpaste, Shampoo, Body wash, Cleaning products

Safer alternatives

Lower-risk approaches that achieve a similar outcome to Sodium lauryl sulfate:

  • Water-based formulations where feasible
    Trade-offs: Longer drying time. May not achieve same performance in all applications.
    Relative cost: 0.8-1.5×
  • Bio-based solvents (d-limonene, ethyl lactate)
    Trade-offs: Higher cost. Flammability concerns with some bio-solvents.
    Relative cost: 2-5× conventional
  • SLES (milder)
    Relative cost: 1.2-2×
  • Sodium cocoyl isethionate (SCI)
    Relative cost: 1.2-2×
  • Decyl glucoside
    Relative cost: 1.2-2×

Frequently asked questions

Is sodium lauryl sulfate safe for pets?

GHS Danger classification. Dogs lack metabolic pathways to detoxify many synthetic chemicals.

What products contain sodium lauryl sulfate?

Sodium lauryl sulfate appears in: Toothpaste (Consumer products); Shampoo (Consumer products).

See Sodium lauryl sulfate in the pets app

Look up products containing sodium lauryl sulfate, compare to alternatives, and explore the full data record.

Open in pets View raw API data

Sources (3)
  1. PubChem Compound CID 3423265 — database
  2. EPA CompTox Chemicals Dashboard — DTXSID1026031 — epa
  3. ATSDR Toxicological Profile — CAS 151-21-3 — reference

Reference data, not professional advice. Aggregates publicly available regulatory and scientific data; not a substitute for veterinary, medical, legal, or regulatory advice. Why we built ALETHEIA →