Sodium coco sulfate (SCS) comes from coconut oil, so it's palm free, unlike many surfactants.
It's a surfactant so it makes things foam and makes oil and water mix together. It's also biodegradable and gentle on skin and hair. SCS is derived from coconut oil and is a milder alternative to sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS).
The difference between the two comes from the mixture of fatty acids that are taken from the coconut oil. SLS only uses lauric acid which means an extra processing step and results in a product that is much harsher on the skin. SCS uses all the fatty acids from the coconut oil which means less processing, and a milder end product. So SCS does not contain SLS, it contains some (and the percentage varies) lauric acid, which is the bulk of SLS.
There is nothing wrong with SLS strictly speaking in terms of health concerns, it's readily biodegradable and naturally derived but it's incredibly harsh on the skin and hair so we choose not to use it. We have found over about 7 years of testing that people respond better to SCS than similar SLS based products, due to the SLS's harshness.
