Our work establishes how surface tension reduction influences droplet growth and activation of simple sea spray mimics (NaCl coated with fatty acids). Fatty acids can substantially reduce droplet surface tension near activation but have limited impact on activation. Coating of NaCl by palmitic acid (a wax) impedes water uptake, but this impedance is removed if oleic acid (a liquid) is mixed in. The properties that surface-active compounds need to impact activation are theoretically examined.