Pore-clogging ingredients / Comedogenic fatty alcohols and esters
Comedogenic fatty alcohols and esters
The worst offenders on every comedogenicity list aren't oils. They're synthetic fatty esters and alcohols like isopropyl myristate and myristyl myristate. They earn their ratings the same way they earn their place in formulas: they penetrate skin exceptionally well, carrying their fatty payload straight into the pore.
Not every fatty alcohol is a problem. Cetyl and cetearyl alcohol rate a contested 2, and plenty of esters (like caprylic/capric triglyceride) aren't flagged at all. This list is the subset the published sources actually implicate.
| Ingredient | Rating | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Ethylhexyl Stearate | 5/5 | moderate |
| Isocetyl Stearate | 5/5 | high |
| Isopropyl Isostearate | 5/5 | high |
| Isopropyl Linoleate | 5/5 | moderate |
| Isopropyl Myristate | 5/5 | high |
| Myristyl Myristate | 5/5 | high |
| Cetearyl Alcohol + Ceteareth-20 | 4/5 | moderate |
| Cetyl Acetate | 4/5 | high |
| Ethylhexyl Palmitate | 4/5 | high |
| Isocetyl Alcohol | 4/5 | moderate |
| Isodecyl Oleate | 4/5 | high |
| Isopropyl Palmitate | 4/5 | high |
| Isostearyl Isostearate | 4/5 | high |
| Lauric Acid | 4/5 | high |
| Myristyl Lactate | 4/5 | high |
| Oleyl Alcohol | 4/5 | high |
| Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate | 4/5 | moderate |
| Stearyl Heptanoate | 4/5 | high |
| Butyl Stearate | 3/5 | high |
| Decyl Oleate | 3/5 | high |
| Dioctyl Succinate | 3/5 | moderate |
| Isostearyl Neopentanoate | 3/5 | moderate |
| Myristic Acid | 3/5 | moderate |
| Myristyl Alcohol | 3/5 | moderate |
| Cetearyl Alcohol | 2/5 | low |
| Cetyl AlcoholHexadecyl Alcohol | 2/5 | low |
| Octyldodecanol | 2/5 | low |
| Oleic Acid | 2/5 | low |
| Palmitic Acid | 2/5 | moderate |
| Stearic Acid | 2/5 | low |
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Ratings come from published comedogenicity research and esthetician-maintained lists. They are imperfect and formulation-dependent, and this page isn't medical advice. Last reviewed 2026-08-15 by the PorePass editorial team.