Is Dimethicone comedogenic?

No, for nearly everyone. This ingredient is rated 1 out of 5, a very low pore-clogging risk.

Silicones feel occlusive, which fuels the 'silicones clog pores' myth, but dimethicone molecules are far too large to enter a pore, and published lists rate it 0–1. The FDA even allows it as a skin protectant in acne products.

Comedogenic rating: 1/5; Very low risk
Evidence confidence: high; Published lists agree on this rating.
Also appears as: polydimethylsiloxane

What is Dimethicone?

The most common silicone in skincare, used for silky slip, scar-protective film forming, and smoothing primer effects. It appears in moisturizers, sunscreens, primers, and nearly every 'oil-free' product.

What to do if you're acne-prone

There's no pore-clogging reason to avoid this ingredient, even in leave-on products. If a product containing it breaks you out, the culprit is almost certainly elsewhere on the label. Paste the full list into the checker to find it.

Where this rating comes from

Our ratings consolidate two lineages: the original rabbit-ear comedogenicity assays published by James Fulton and colleagues (Fulton, Pay & Fulton, Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 1984; Fulton, Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists, 1989), and the pore-clogger lists maintained by acne-specialist estheticians in the Face Reality lineage. This ingredient rates 0–1 across those sources (or doesn't appear on the flagged lists at all), which is why our checker doesn't flag it.

Last reviewed 2026-08-16 by the PorePass editorial team.

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Other ingredients that don't clog pores

Wondering what does clog pores? Browse the full pore-clogging ingredients list.

Comedogenicity ratings come from published ingredient studies and esthetician-compiled lists. They are imperfect and formulation-dependent, and this page isn't medical advice. Reactions vary by skin, concentration, and the rest of the formula.