It isn’t. Soap is the salt of a fatty acid, sodium lauryl sulfate is a salt, but not of a fatty acid. Both are surfactants (meaning it breaks surface tensions), but have some different properties. A relevant difference in cosmetics is that SLS strips oils waaay better, which can damage your skin barrier and your hair. For some people it works fine, for others it’s too harsh and soap is better. (For me it damages my hair structure and thus makes my waves lackluster, but is fine in shower gel)
Very fancy way of saying soap
It isn’t. Soap is the salt of a fatty acid, sodium lauryl sulfate is a salt, but not of a fatty acid. Both are surfactants (meaning it breaks surface tensions), but have some different properties. A relevant difference in cosmetics is that SLS strips oils waaay better, which can damage your skin barrier and your hair. For some people it works fine, for others it’s too harsh and soap is better. (For me it damages my hair structure and thus makes my waves lackluster, but is fine in shower gel)