Pore-clogging ingredients / Glycolic Acid

Is Glycolic Acid comedogenic?

No. This ingredient has a comedogenic rating of 0 out of 5 and is not known to clog pores.

Comedogenic rating: 0/5; Non-comedogenic
Evidence confidence: high; Published lists agree on this rating.
Also appears as: hydroxyacetic acid

What is Glycolic Acid?

The smallest alpha hydroxy acid, derived originally from sugarcane. It loosens the bonds between dead surface cells so they shed instead of accumulating, and appears in toners, serums, and at-home peels.

What to do if you're acne-prone

This ingredient is safe for acne-prone skin from a pore-clogging standpoint. One safe ingredient doesn't clear a whole formula, though: check the rest of the label, because cloggers usually hide mid-list among ingredients like this one.

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.