Pore-clogging ingredients / Squalane
Is Squalane comedogenic?
No, for nearly everyone. This ingredient is rated 1 out of 5, a very low pore-clogging risk.
Don't confuse squalane (this ingredient, stable, rated 0–1) with squalene, the unstable precursor on our flagged list. One letter, different molecule: squalene oxidizes on skin, and its oxidation products are comedogenic.
- Comedogenic rating
- 1/5
- Very low risk
- Evidence confidence
- high
- Published lists agree on this rating.
- Also appears as
- No common label aliases
What is Squalane?
The hydrogenated, fully stable form of squalene, a lipid the skin makes naturally. Modern squalane is usually derived from sugarcane or olives. It's feather-light, doesn't oxidize, and suits every skin type, which is why it anchors so many minimalist facial oils and moisturizers.
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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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.