Pore-clogging ingredients / Pore-clogging ingredients in makeup
Pore-clogging ingredients in makeup
Makeup sits on your skin all day, so its ingredient list matters at least as much as your skincare's. The recurring offenders are the esters that give foundations their slip, the D&C red dyes used in blushes and lip products (implicated in 'lipstick cheilitis' breakouts around the mouth), and bismuth oxychloride, the shimmer mineral in many powder foundations.
Acne cosmetica, breakouts caused by cosmetics, develops slowly, over weeks, so the product you've used for a month is still a suspect. These are the makeup-relevant ingredients our checker flags.
| Ingredient | Rating | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Isocetyl Stearate | 5/5 | high |
| Isopropyl Myristate | 5/5 | high |
| Acetylated Lanolin | 4/5 | high |
| Acetylated Lanolin Alcohol | 4/5 | high |
| Cetyl Acetate | 4/5 | high |
| Ethylhexyl Palmitate | 4/5 | high |
| Isopropyl Palmitate | 4/5 | high |
| Myristyl Lactate | 4/5 | high |
| D&C Red 36CI 12085 | 3/5 | moderate |
| D&C Red 17CI 26100 | 3/5 | moderate |
| D&C Red 21 / Red 22CI 45380 | 3/5 | moderate |
| D&C Red 27 / Red 28CI 45410 | 3/5 | moderate |
| D&C Red 3CI 45430 | 3/5 | moderate |
| D&C Red 30CI 73360 | 3/5 | moderate |
| Magnesium Myristate | 3/5 | moderate |
| Bismuth Oxychloride | 2/5 | low |
| D&C Red 6 / Red 7CI 15850 | 2/5 | low |
| Lanolin Alcohol | 2/5 | moderate |
| Octyldodecanol | 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.