The demand for naturally-derived ingredients in skincare isn’t slowing down.
Whether you’re developing a new product line or reformulating an existing one, the pressure to move toward ingredients with solid natural credentials is real, and it’s coming from retailers, regulators and consumers alike.
The quality of the options available to you is now greater than it was a few years ago. The natural surfactants and functional ingredients on the market today are a long way from earlier generations, which often meant compromising on foam, stability or skin feel.
The five natural surfactants outlines below all have strong natural origins and genuine functional value in skincare formulations. Several of them bring more than one benefit to the table, which is always worth considering when you’re trying to keep your ingredient list lean.
1. Cocamidopropyl Betaine (CAPB)
If you’re formulating a mild cleanser, CAPB is probably already on your radar.
Derived from coconut oil, it’s an amphoteric surfactant that sits comfortably alongside both anionic and cationic ingredients, giving you plenty of flexibility when building a surfactant blend.
Its mildness profile is one of its biggest selling points. CAPB is well-tolerated by skin and eyes, which is why you’ll find it in facial washes, baby care products and sensitive skin formulations across the board. It produces a stable, creamy foam and helps to reduce the irritation potential of harsher co-surfactants when used in combination. And from a brand positioning standpoint, CAPB’s natural origin gives it strong clean-label credentials.
2. Alkyl Polyglucoside (APG)
APG is one of the most widely used non-ionic surfactants in natural personal care products, and it’s not difficult to see why. It’s derived from plant-based raw materials, typically glucose from corn or wheat starch combined with fatty alcohols from coconut or palm, and it has an impressive profile when it comes to performance and skin compatibility.
APG’s stability across a wide pH range is one of its most useful characteristics, which makes it a versatile building block for all sorts of rinse-off formulations. It also synergises well with other surfactants, helping to soften the overall mildness profile of a blend without dragging down the foaming or cleansing performance.
If your brand wants to make a credible eco-conscious claim, APG is a strong choice. It’s readily biodegradable and has a well-established regulatory track record across the major markets. If your customers are asking about your eco-friendly credentials, APG is an ingredient you can point to with confidence.
3. Lactic Acid
Lactic Acid earns its place in this list as a multifunctional ingredient with excellent natural credentials and real formulation utility in skincare manufacturing. Most commercial Lactic Acid is produced via fermentation, which keeps it firmly in natural ingredient territory.
Its primary role in formulation is as an Alpha-Hydroxy Acid (AHA), where it works by loosening the bonds between dead skin cells to encourage gentle exfoliation. It’s milder than Glycolic Acid, which makes it a better fit for sensitive skin products and leave-on applications like toners and serums.
Beyond exfoliation, Lactic Acid also functions as an acidifier and humectant. It’s one of the components of the skin’s natural moisturisation factor (NMF), so at lower concentrations it actively supports hydration rather than just stripping the surface. If you’re working on a product that needs a surfactant to do more than one job, Lactic Acid ticks a lot of boxes.
4. Lauramidopropyl Betaine
Lauramidopropyl Betaine often gets overshadowed by its better-known cousin, CAPB. But it has some distinct performance characteristics that make it worth considering, particularly if you’re developing hair care or body wash formulations.
Like CAPB, it’s an amphoteric surfactant, which means it’s compatible with a wide range of other surfactant types and is generally well-tolerated by all skin types. However, Lauramidopropyl Betaine tends to produce a richer, creamier lather. It also brings a noticeable conditioning effect to formulations, making it an excellent choice for shampoos and shower gels where you want the product to feel good during use, not just after rinsing off.
If you’ve been defaulting to CAPB for everything and haven’t tried Lauramidopropyl Betaine in your formulations yet, it’s worth running a side-by-side comparison. The difference in skin feel is often noticeable.
5. Ammonium Lauryl Sulphate (ALS)
If you’re looking for a primary anionic surfactant with strong cleansing and foaming performance, Ammonium Lauryl Sulphate is a well-established option that works well in rinse-off personal care formulations. You’ll find it in shampoos, body washes and liquid hand soaps, where its ability to produce a generous, stable foam is a key part of the product experience.
ALS is closely related to Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS), but there are some meaningful differences worth knowing about. Its ammonium counterion gives it better water solubility and makes it easier to formulate at higher concentrations without the thickening and stability issues that can sometimes occur with SLS. It also tends to be better tolerated by the scalp, which is one of the reasons it’s a common choice in shampoo formulations where you need good cleansing performance but want to keep the irritation profile as low as possible.
That said, like most anionic surfactants, ALS works best when it’s paired with a milder co-surfactant. Combining it with CAPB or Lauramidopropyl Betaine is a well-proven approach. You get cleansing and foaming utility from the ALS, while the amphoteric co-surfactant helps to soften the blend’s overall mildness profile.
On the natural credentials front, ALS is derived from lauryl alcohol, which can be sourced from coconut or palm kernel oil. So, if sustainable sourcing is important to your brand positioning, it’s worth asking your supplier about the origin of the lauryl alcohol used in production.
Our product range
Personal care
UV Absorbers
Choosing the right surfactant for your formulation
Selecting a surfactant isn’t just about finding an ingredient that cleanses or foams. It’s about understanding how it behaves in the context of your full formulation. Its pH compatibility, interaction with other actives, and the skin type or claims your product is targeting all need to factor into that decision.
It’s also worth noting that the most effective formulations rarely rely on a single surfactant. Blending two or three complementary ingredients, an anionic primary surfactant with an amphoteric co-surfactant, for example, often gives you a milder product, more stable foam and a more elegant skin feel than any single ingredient can deliver on its own.
At MegaChem (UK), we supply a broad range of naturally-derived surfactants and speciality ingredients to personal care manufacturers across the UK and beyond. We can help you source the right materials for your formulations, advise on grades and specifications, and support you through the development process. If you’d like to talk through which of these surfactants might work best for your application, our technical team is happy to help. Get in touch for more information.
