Why Dazz uses Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS)

Sodium lauryl sulfate—better known as SLS—is a bit of a misunderstood cleaning powerhouse.

If you remember the internet in the early 2000s, you may also remember some fairly alarming claims about SLS. Those claims travelled far and fast, and the ingredient gained a reputation that the research simply did not support.

Since then, SLS has been much more carefully reviewed. A 2015 scientific review found that SLS can be used safely in properly formulated household cleaning products and described it as readily biodegradable.

So, why do we happily stock Dazz products containing SLS? Let’s make it simple.

SLS is a seriously good cleaner

SLS is a surfactant. That means it helps water spread across a surface and connect with oils and dirt. The grime loosens, your cloth picks it up, and the surface wipes clean.

That cleaning ability is exactly why surfactants are found in so many everyday products. In Dazz tablets, SLS works alongside ingredients such as citric acid, sodium bicarbonate and sodium carbonate to give you plenty of cleaning power from one very small tablet.

But where does SLS come from?

SLS can be made using different starting materials. Some manufacturers use petroleum-derived feedstocks. Others use plant-derived fatty alcohols from sources such as palm-kernel oil or coconut oil.

Dazz uses SLS derived from coconut feedstock—not crude oil. 🥥

Why does that matter? Coconut is a renewable plant source, so choosing it reduces reliance on fossil-based raw materials. It also fits Dazz’s aim of creating effective cleaners without petrochemical surfactants.

One honest bit of chemistry is worth mentioning: once SLS has been manufactured to the same specification, it does the same cleaning job whether its original feedstock was coconut or petroleum. “Coconut-derived” does not magically turn it into a different molecule or prove safety on its own. The environmental advantage is the renewable, non-petroleum starting source—and confidence in the finished cleaner comes from the full formulation and the standards it meets.

What about sodium coco sulfate?

You may have seen sodium coco sulfate (SCS) promoted as an “SLS-free” alternative. The names are confusing, but SCS is a mixture of coconut-derived sulfate surfactants and can include sodium lauryl sulfate as part of that mixture.

In other words, SLS is not the villain it is sometimes made out to be. It is an effective surfactant, and Dazz is transparent about why it is used and where its version comes from.

The Safer Choice difference

This is the part that gives us real confidence in Dazz: its cleaning products carry the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Safer Choice certification.

The EPA does not award that label because one ingredient sounds natural. It reviews every ingredient in the finished product against strict human-health and environmental criteria. Safer Choice products must also meet performance requirements, so the formula has to be both a safer choice and an effective cleaner.

The EPA specifically describes Safer Choice-certified products as safer for families, pets, workplaces and the environment. That is a much stronger reason for confidence than an “SLS-free” claim on its own.

Powerful cleaning, without another plastic bottle

Dazz needed a cleaner that could compete with conventional spray products while working in tablet form—and coconut-derived SLS helps make that possible.

Instead of shipping a new plastic bottle filled mostly with water every time, Dazz sends the concentrated ingredients in a lightweight tablet. You add water at home and reuse your spray bottle again and again. That means less single-use plastic, far less weight being transported and much less cupboard clutter.

It is a clever idea: keep the cleaning power and leave behind a lot of unnecessary packaging.

Why we feel good about Dazz

We stock Dazz because it combines effective cleaning, transparent ingredients and an EPA-reviewed finished formula with a genuinely useful refill system. The SLS in Dazz is coconut-derived, readily biodegradable and there for a very good reason—it helps get your home clean.

As with any household product, simply use it as directed on the packaging. No scary ingredient lecture required.

See the Dazz Eco Spray Collection and read our customer reviews

Shop the full Dazz range at CleanPost

Thanks for helping us reduce unnecessary plastic, one refill at a time.

With love and thanks,
The CleanPost team