Pore-clogging ingredients / Isopropyl Lanolate
Is Isopropyl Lanolate comedogenic?
Yes. This ingredient clogs pores for many people.
- Comedogenic rating
- 4/5
- Highly comedogenic
- Evidence confidence
- moderate
- Most published lists include this ingredient, with ratings that vary by about one point.
- Also appears as
- No common label aliases
What is Isopropyl Lanolate?
The isopropyl ester of lanolin fatty acids, used to give lipsticks and creams emollient slip with better spreadability than raw lanolin.
What to do if you're acne-prone
Skip it in leave-on products like moisturizers, sunscreens, and foundations if you're acne-prone. In rinse-off products the risk is lower but not zero.
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 that refine those assays with decades of client observation. This ingredient appears across both lineages with ratings that vary by about one point; we show the consensus value.
Last reviewed 2026-08-15 by the PorePass editorial team.
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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.