The terms “comedogenic” and “non-comedogenic” refer to a substance’s ability to block pores and cause acne. Some ingredients, such as wheat germ oil and coconut oil, are more likely to clog pores than others. Products can be rated based on how well they cover pores, and the order of ingredients can indicate their percentage in the product. Non-comedogenic products are labeled as such to help people avoid pore-clogging ingredients.
The term “comedogenic” is almost always associated with the term “non-comedogenic”. This word pair is used to discuss the degree to which a substance can block pores. Clogged pores can lead to an increase in acne in some people, and for this reason, people may look for ingredients in skin treatments that are non-comedogenic and less likely to clog pores. Those who don’t have acne can usually safely choose products that can occasionally block pores.
Often, products are rated based on how well the pores are covered by the product. Something that might only block pores 10 to 20% of the time, or in other words partially create a blockage of pores, which might be considered mildly comedogenic. On the other hand, something that tends to always cover the pores and cause a total blockage could be considered a serious comedogenic.
There are a large number of ingredients that can clog pores at least to some extent. A complete list might be hard to come by, but some ingredients that have a tendency to be severely comedogenic include wheat germ oil, most forms of lanolin, coconut oil, flaxseed oil, cocoa and coconut butter. and sodium lauryl sulfate. Materials that cause only partial blockage include avocado, almond, castor, peanut, and a variety of other oils. Some forms of wax clog pores, and other ingredients that may clog pores are talc, zinc oxide, vitamin A, some types of vitamin E, and polyethylene glycol.
With the number of ingredients that could block pores, any reasonable person might feel appalled trying to avoid them, but this isn’t always necessary. People who don’t regularly get acne breakouts might be fine using one of these products.
The order of ingredients can tell people a lot about the amount of comedogenic in a product. If the last ingredient in an ingredient list can block pores, that means the ingredient is in the lowest percentage of all ingredients in a product. Of course, it is also possible for products to contain more than one of these products.
For those people who need to strictly avoid these ingredients, most cosmetics and other skin care treatments will generally be labeled as non-comedogenic if they don’t include any pore-clogging ingredients. Looking for the non-comedogenic label is one way to avoid skin products that could cause more breakouts.
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