Pore-clogging ingredient checker

Paste a product's ingredient (INCI) list to highlight ingredients that have been flagged as comedogenic (pore-clogging) in published testing.

Ingredient list

Please read: Comedogenic ratings are contested. Most come from the rabbit-ear assay, where single ingredients were tested at high concentrations (usually 10%). The results do not reliably predict how a finished product behaves on human skin, which also depends on concentration, the rest of the formula and your skin. A flag here is not proof that a product will clog pores, and no flag is not proof that it won't. This tool is general information, not medical advice. If you have persistent acne, see a dermatologist.

How the scale works

We sort ingredients into two coarse groups based on the grades published in the study below (0 to 5 scale). High likelihood means grade 4–5. Moderate likelihood means grade 2–3. Ingredients graded 0–1, and ingredients whose results the authors reported as depending on the raw-material source (for example lanolin alcohol, beeswax, jojoba oil, mineral oil and tocopherol), are not flagged. Ingredients the study did not test are not flagged either. Matching is by exact ingredient name (INCI or common synonym), so check spelling if something seems missing.

Sources

Fulton JE Jr. "Comedogenicity and irritancy of commonly used ingredients in skin care products." Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists 40, 321–333 (1989). Table I is the source of the grades used for the groups above.
Fulton JE Jr., Pay SR, Fulton JE 3rd. "Comedogenicity of current therapeutic products, cosmetics, and ingredients in the rabbit ear." Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology 10(1), 96–105 (1984).
Draelos ZD, DiNardo JC. "A re-evaluation of the comedogenicity concept." Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology 54(3), 507–512 (2006). This paper discusses the limits of the rabbit-ear model.

Our groups and wording are a simplified summary of the published grades. They are not a reproduction of the original table.