Replacing existing surfactants with alternatives can be difficult, as a direct replacement into an existing formulation is not guaranteed to be successful. To work effectively, formulators must understand the mechanism of action of the new surfactant and compatibility with other components. For example, sodium lauryl sarcosinate (SLSar) does not build significant viscosity when used as the sole surfactant; it is necessary to add a co-surfactant for worm-like micelles (WLMs hereafter), required for viscosity build, to form. For surfactants like SLSar, where the carboxylate group is highly susceptible to changes in pH this can present another challenge for the formulator. Changing the ratio of protonated to deprotonated ionic surfactant present via pH (or the amount of salt present) can have dramatic consequences on self-assembled structures and therefore the properties of the formulation. Computer simulation is often positioned as a useful tool to aid identification of candidate surfactant systems, as it allows the elucidation of self-assembled surfactant microstructures and dynamics that may not be readily available to the experimentalist. It also affords the potential for rapid screening of several candidate systems where the formulator can step outside the portfolio of surfactants readily available from raw-materials suppliers to explore novel alternatives. Several computational approaches exist such as atomistic (e. g. molecular dynamics, MD) and coarse-grained approaches (e. g. coarse-grained MD, and dissipative particle dynamics, DPD,). These offer insight at a molecular level to enable calculation of thermodynamic quantities, and to probe the self-assembly process of surfactants (into micelles and larger structures) that can inform the development of new surfac-However, a surfactant that produces large WLMs may display low viscosity if the micelle breakage rate is sufficiently high. In addition, past a certain threshold, viscosity might decrease due to the emergence of branching, or the formation of lamellar (or disc-like) structures. Nevertheless, the primary mechanism of viscosity build in micellar systems involves growth and entanglement of long WLMs. Given these trends, it is interesting to explore if simulating self-assembly can be used to screen candidate surfactants and formulations for potential viscosity enhancement. If possible then one could use such simulations to direct subsequent laboratory efforts, enabling focus on a select few samples, optimising efficiency, reducing time, and minimising costs.