Sodium c12-15 alkyl sulfates (inci)

"Sodium ..." refers to the element sodium, "alkyl" describes in general terms the part of a molecule consisting of carbon and hydrogen atoms linked together. The simplest alkyl group is the methyl group -CH3 or the ethyl group -CH2-CH3 etc. The prefixed numbers "C x-y" represent the range of carbon chain lengths (here C12-15) of the alkyl group. "Sulfates" are salts/esters of sulfuric acid

Sodium C12-15 alkyl SEC sulfate acts as an emulsifier (enables the formation of finely dispersed mixtures of oil and water, detergent (cleans skin, hair or teeth), foaming agent (forms foam by trapping air or other gases in a liquid) and as a surfactant (washing-active substance/improves the even distribution of products during application).