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Pore-Clogging Ingredients in Skin Care

Do not ever put anything on your skin or your hair without checking the ingredients first, even if it says “won’t clog pores” or “noncomedogenic” on the bottle. No government agency oversees this so skincare companies can claim their products promote clear skin and have pore cloggers in their ingredient deck.

Many professional skin care products, natural skin care products, organic skin care products and even acne skin care products can have pore-clogging ingredients. No government agency oversees this, so skincare companies can claim their products promote clear skin and have pore cloggers in their ingredient deck.

There are many ingredients that sound wonderful for your skin, but can be some of the worst offenders. Natural oils like cocoa butter and coconut oil which are found in many “organic” skin care lines will wreak havoc with acne-prone skin. Other oils such as jojoba, olive and lanolin are mildly comedogenic and can be a problem if formulated with other comedogenic ingredients.

The prescription product Retin A (the cream form) has isopropyl myristate – a potent pore-clogger. Some other prescription products are comedogenic as well. Many over-the-counter acne medications also have pore clogging ingredients. “Oil-free” products are not necessarily safe either.

These are some of the more common ingredients that can aggravate acne:

INGREDIENT

  • Acetylated Lanolin
  • Acetylated Lanolin Alcohol
  • Algae Extract
  • Algin
  • Butyl Stearate
  • Carrageenan
  • Cetyl Acetate
  • Cetearyl Alcohol + Ceteareth 20
  • Chondrus Crispus (aka Irish Moss or Carageenan Moss)
  • Chlorella
  • Coal Tar
  • Cocoa Butter
  • Coconut Alkanes
  • Coconut Butter
  • Coconut Oil
  • Colloidal Sulfur
  • Cotton Awws Oil
  • otton Seed Oil
  • D & C Red # 17 (can also be listed without D&C)
  • D & C Red # 21 (can also be listed without D&C)
  • D & C Red # 3 (can also be listed without D&C)
  • D & C Red # 30 (can also be listed without D&C)
  • D & C Red # 36 (can also be listed without D&C)
  • Decyl Oleate
  • Dioctyl Succinate
  • Disodium Monooleamido PEG 2-Sulfosuccinate
  • Ethoxylated Lanolin
  • Ethylhexyl Palmitate
  • Glyceryl Stearate SE
  • Glyceryl-3-Diisostearate
  • Hexadecyl Alcohol
  • Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil
  • Isocetyl Alcohol
  • Isocetyl Stearate
  • Isodecyl Oleate
  • Isopropyl Isosterate
  • Isopropyl Linolate
  • Isopropyl Myristate
  • Isopropyl Palmitate
  • Isostearyl Isostearate
  • Isostearyl Neopentanoate
  • Kelp
  • Laminaria Digitata Extract
  • Laminaria Saccharina Extract (Laminaria Saccharine)
  • Laureth-23
  • Laureth-4
  • Lauric Acid
  • Mink Oil
  • Myristic Acid
  • Myristyl Lactate
  • Myristyl Myristate
  • Octyl Palmitate
  • Octyl Stearate
  • Oleth-3
  • Oleyl Alcohol
  • PEG 16 Lanolin
  • PEG 200 Dilaurate
  • PEG 8 Stearate
  • PG Monostearate
  • PPG 2 Myristyl Propionate
  • Plankton
  • Polyglyceryl-3-Diisostearate
  • Potassium Chloride
  • Propylene Glycol Monostearate
  • Red Algae
  • Seaweed
  • Sea Whip Extract
  • Shark Liver Oil (Squalene)
  • Shea Butter
  • Sodium Chloride (Salt)
  • Sodium Laureth Sulfate
  • Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
  • Solulan 16
  • Sorbitan Oleate
  • Soybean Oil
  • Spirulina
  • Steareth 10
  • Stearic Acid Tea
  • Stearyl Heptanoate
  • Sulfated Castor Oil
  • Sulfated Jojoba Oil
  • Stearyl Heptanoate
  • Wheat Germ Glyceride
  • Wheat Germ Oil
  • Xylene

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