Carrier oils and butters: are they comedogenic?

 

 

An oil is called comedogenic if it causes the formation of Comedones. Comedones are imperfections of the skin also known as pimples, microcysts or blackheads. They appear when pores get clogged by an excess of sebum and impurities. People with mixed to oily skins complexions, especially young skin (teenagers), are generally more prone to Comedones

A comedogenic oil is therefore an oil that will promote the formation of these imperfections and therefore clog pores in the long term.

These oils are nevertheless useful, especially for dry or atopic skins, to help with specific skin conditions such as wrinkles, stretch marks or simply to rehydrate a very dry skin.

COMEDOGENIC INDEX

Each oil has an index of comedogenicity that ranges from 0 to 5, with index 0 being non-comedogenic and index 5 highly comedogenic.

Oils with a low index between 0 and 2 will be recommended for oily to mixed skins, while normal to dry skins will be able to use all oils.

To help you in your choice of carrier oils, here is a small non-exhaustive list of oils according to their comedogenicity index.

COMEDOGENIC TABLE OF CARRIER OILS AND BUTTERS

IS THIS OIL COMEDOGENIC (Causes clogging of pores)?

0=NO, 1 to 2 = HARDLY, 3 to 4 = YES, 5= VERY

0 -NO: will not clog pores

1 -HARDLY: low probability of clogging pores

2 -HARDLY: low to moderate probability of clogging pores

3 -YES: moderate probability

4 -YES: moderate to high probability

5 -VERY: will most probably clog pores

 

Name	Comedogenic Rating	Skin Type(s)
Almond Oil, Sweet	2	Dry, Sensitive, Acne Prone
Apricot Kernel Oil	2	Combination, Dry
Argan Oil	0	Most Skin Types
Avocado Oil	3	Dry, Acne Prone
Baobab Seed Oil	2	Most Skin Types
Black Cumin Seed Oil	2	Combination
Carrot Seed Oil	3-4	Dry, Mature
Castor Oil	1	Most Skin Types, including Acne Prone & Oily
Cocoa Butter	4	Ideal for Body & Eye Area, NOT for Oily & Acne Prone
Coconut Butter	4	Very Dry, Best for Body Use
Coconut Oil	4	Very Dry, Best for Body Use
Flax Seed Oil (Linseed)	4	Very Dry, Best for Body Use
Grapeseed Oil	1	Most Skin Types
Jojoba Oil	2	Most Skin Types, including Oily & Acne Prone
Macadamia Nut Oil	2-3	Dry
Mango Butter	2	Most Skin Types
Mango Seed Oil	2	Most Skin Types, particularly Dry
Moringa Oil	3-4	Dry, Combination
Neem Oil	1-2	Dry, Acne Prone
Olive Oil	2	Dry, Acne Prone
Passionfruit (Maracuja) Seed Oil	1-2	Oily, Irritated, Acne Prone
Apricot Kernel Oil	2	Dry, Sensitive
Pomegranate Seed Oil	1	Most Skin Types, especially Mature
Rice Bran Oil	2	Most Skin Types, especially Mature & Combination
Rosehip Seed Oil	1	Oily, Acne Prone
Safflower Oil	0	Most Skin Types
Shea Butter	0-2	Normal, Dry
Soybean Oil	4-5	Very Dry, Atopic, Target, Best for Body Use
Sunflower Seed Oil	0-2	Most Skin Types
Tamanu Oil	2	Most Skin Types, especially Scarred & Sensitive
Wheat Germ Oil	5	Very Dry, Atopic, Damaged, Spot Treatment
Ximenia	0-2	Ideal for Body, hair & Eye Area, Dry to very dry, Atopic, Mature