Potassium Cocoate
Explained
Potassium Cocoate is basically a liquid coconut soap that's made by cooking coconut oil with potassium hydroxide.
It's a cleanser, foaming, and emulsifying agent that mostly shows up in soaps and "natural" cleansers.
Rinse-off concentrations typically range from 2-25%.
The finished product sits at a fairly high pH (~9-11) because it's a true soap. This just means it can feel drying or slightly stripping if a formula isn't balance with emollients.
Allergy and irritation risk is low as this ingredient was found to be an irritant in less than 1% of subjects (2 of these subjects had active psoriasis and 3 had active eczema).
Fungal acne: The Malassezia yeast feeds on fatty acids in the ~C12-24 range, and Potassium Cocoate is made of exactly those (Lauric C12, Myristic C14, Palmitic C16, Oleic C18:1). Lab studies have shown the yeast can take up Lauric Acid and grows readily on Palmitic Acid. Therefore, this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.
See all 396 products with Potassium Cocoate
