Sodium lauryl sulphate more likely the culprit

摘要

I read with interest the letter from Roy Wright (PJ, 22/29 June 2013, p736) concerning aqueous cream. As he says, the article by Cork and colleagues (PJ 2003;271:747) acknowledged the possibility that the preservative could be the source of the observed skin irritation. However, it seems more likely that the emulsifying agent sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) was the cause. Aqueous Cream BP contains 1 per cent SLS. SLS is widely used in industrial cleaning products and is the model irritant used by the cosmetic industry when testing detergent products, for example, shampoos.