Sodium Palmate

Sodium palmate is a soap (sodium salt of palm fatty acids) used at high levels in bar cleansers, and its alkaline nature can disrupt the stratum corneum, increasing transepidermal water loss and provoking stinging, dryness, and eczema flares. Clinical experience and irritant contact dermatitis data for true soaps show moderate irritation potential, especially with frequent use or compromised barriers, so patch-testing and limited exposure are prudent for sensitive skin. Safety Notes: Sodium palmate is primarily used as the main soap surfactant/structurant in bar soaps and syndet-soap hybrid cleansing bars; in these rinse-off products it commonly appears at very high levels, with traditional “soap bars” and glycerin/transparent soap bases reaching roughly 60–85% of the finished bar as fatty acid sodium salts (including sodium palmate). At the low end, it shows up as a minor component or trace carryover (e.g., in cleansers or products containing soap noodles/soap base blends, or as an incidental impurity in certain fatty-acid–derived materials) around ~0.1–1%. It is rarely used in leave-on skincare at meaningful levels due to high alkalinity/irritation potential, so the practical market maximum is driven by rinse-off bar soap formats.