Pore Clogging Checker: Does It Clog Pores?

A tool that reads a product’s ingredient list against the ingredients known to clog pores. This one marks every ingredient clogs, may clog, does not clog or not flagged, and says whether the flag rests on a published rabbit-ear score or only on an acne-clinic list, so you can tell a measured 5 from an untested name.

Copy the full ingredient list from the pack or the product page, paste it into the checker and tap Check. Every ingredient comes back in label order with its answer. Read the top of the list first: labels list ingredients above 1% from most to least, so a clogger in second place matters more than one near the end.

The ones with a published score of 5, the top of the scale: isopropyl myristate, isopropyl isostearate, myristyl myristate, isopropyl linoleate, wheat germ acid, laureth-4, oleth-3, wheat germ oil, algae extract, carrageenan, sodium lauryl sulfate, coal tar, xylene and sodium chloride. Another 30 score 4, which Fulton also counted as positive, among them isopropyl palmitate, coconut oil, cocoa butter and acetylated lanolin.

Yes. Coconut oil scores 4 out of 5, in the range Fulton counted as positive, so the checker marks it clogs. The score matters most in a leave-on face product; a cleanser you rinse off stays on the skin for seconds.

It may be. Shea butter scores 3 out of 5, which Fulton called borderline, so the checker marks it may clog. The score is for raw shea butter, not a finished cream; if you clog easily, keep it off your face or patch test it first.

Borderline. Cetearyl alcohol is a waxy fatty alcohol that thickens creams, nothing like drying alcohol, and it scores 2 out of 5, the bottom of the range Fulton called borderline. The checker marks it may clog and shows the score. It is a common thickener, in 4 of the 10 product labels we checked, so judge it by where it sits on the label.

Some are measured, most are not. Generic algae extract and carrageenan both score 5 out of 5 and read clogs. The named species, kelp, spirulina, chlorella and the red and green algae, appear on acne-clinic lists without any published score, so the checker marks them may clog and says the flag comes from a clinic list.

It is the maker’s own claim, the same as non-comedogenic. No US rule defines either term or requires a test behind it, and the label does not say whether the finished product was tested on people or the maker simply avoided some ingredients. Paste the ingredient list here to check the claim yourself.

Same idea, different answer. Comedogenic ratings are the 0 to 5 scores; pore clogging lists turn them into yes or no and add ingredients that were never scored. This checker gives the yes, maybe or no and keeps the score beside it. The comedogenic checker on this site shows the full 0 to 5 list grouped by chemistry.

No. The scores describe the raw ingredient, so the amount, the rest of the formula and whether you rinse it off all change the risk, and skin varies. A flagged ingredient near the top of a leave-on face product is a strong lead if you keep breaking out; the same ingredient at the end of a cleanser is weak.

Because it only knows what the two sources list. Not flagged means an ingredient is not among the 140 on the acne-clinic lists or in the assay tables this checker reads, which lowers the odds but is not a promise. Irritation from fragrance or over-exfoliation can cause breakouts that have nothing to do with clogging.