Pore-clogging ingredients / Sorbitan Oleate
Is Sorbitan Oleate comedogenic?
It can. This ingredient carries moderate pore-clogging risk.
- Comedogenic rating
- 3/5
- Moderately comedogenic
- Evidence confidence
- high
- Published lists agree on this rating.
- Also appears as
- No common label aliases
What is Sorbitan Oleate?
A sorbitol-based emulsifier for water-in-oil formulas, common in creams, cleansing balms, and makeup.
What to do if you're acne-prone
Position matters: high on the ingredient list means more of it in the formula. If you're very breakout-prone, choose an alternative; otherwise watch how your skin responds.
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. Both source lineages agree on this ingredient's rating.
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.