ALPHA-STEP® BSS-45 is an aqueous anionic surfactant derived from oleochemicals. This versatile surfactant functions well in hard water, exhibiting excellent hard water tolerance and lime soap dispersing ability. It can be used in personal care products, especially in toilet combo soap bars. In toilet combo soap bars, ALPHA-STEP® BSS-45 improves many characteristics such as: skin feel, foaming, mildness, marring, sloughing, wear rate, and grit. ALPHA-STEP® BSS-45 provides hydrotropic properties, which can be advantageous in the processing of toilet soap bars. The exceptionally low viscosity soap slurry produced with sulfonated methyl ester (SME) can result in enhanced mixing, increased heat transfer and improvement in the overall drying process.