surfactant

What it means

1. chemistryA surface-active agent, or wetting agent, capable of reducing the surface tension of a liquid; typically organic compounds having a hydrophilic “head” and a hydrophobic “tail”.

   Dr. Khorana added that this is especially true of cleansers that feature surfactants like sodium lauryl sulfate, as this class of ingredients can cause “dryness, irritation and eczema.”

   2023 December 6, Jessica DeFino, “Too Many Products Can Stress Out Your Skin. Here’s How to Scale Back.”, in The New York Times

   Synonyms: tenside

2. biochemistryA lipoprotein in the tissues of the lung that reduces surface tension and permits more efficient gas transport.

   It is conceivable that impairment of surfactant proteins is due to rheological and immunodefensive disorders of testis and epididymis or prostate.

   2015 November 25, “Expression and Localization of Lung Surfactant Proteins in Human Testis”, in PLOS ONE, →DOI

In a sentence

Dr. Khorana added that this is especially true of cleansers that feature surfactants like sodium lauryl sulfate, as this class of ingredients can cause “dryness, irritation and eczema.”

2023 December 6, Jessica DeFino, “Too Many Products Can Stress Out Your Skin. Here’s How to Scale Back.”, in The New York Times

Where it comes from

Blend of surface-active + agent.