Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) is an anionic surfactant naturally derived from coconut and/or palm kernel oil. It usually consists of a mixture of sodium alkyl sulfates, mainly the lauryl. It is a widely used and inexpensive chemical found in many mainstream personal hygiene products such as shampoos, toothpastes, soaps, detergents and body wash. SLS is a detergent and surfactant, which essentially means that it breaks surface tension and separates molecules in order to allow better interaction between the product and your hair. It is also widely used as a skin irritant when testing products used to heal skin conditions. It was found that SLS represented a potential candidate for the use as a topical microbicide to prevent the sexual transmission of HIV-1, herpes, human papillomavirus and possibly other sexually transmitted pathogens. The mechanism of action of SLS involves the solubilization of the viral envelope and/or the denaturation of envelope and/or capsid proteins.