Let’s talk about comedogenic ingredients. The intense fear, dread, (and wrath from the skin gods) of clogging our pores with certain skin ingredients has been drilled into our subconscious. Here are the most common misunderstood ingredients that are falsely considered “comedogenic” aka “pore-clogging.”

The Most Popular So-Called Comedogenic Ingredients

  • Cocoa butter
  • Shea butter
  • Lanolin
  • Coconut oil
  • Almond oil
  • Avocado oil
  • Olive oil
  • Beeswax in reasonable dilutions
  • Apricot oil
  • Wheat germ oil
  • Peach kernel oil
  • Animal tallow
  • Sesame oil

The Bottom Line of Comedogenic Ingredients

I am here to tell you that this is simply not the case. The old way of villianizing these ingredients has turned out to be unfounded. The old story went like this: our natural skin oils are bad and have no function but to clog our pores. Excessive oil production causes acne and large pores. False. What we now know is true: Our natural skin oils are crucial to a healthy skin acid mantle (natural barrier) that helps prevents and cure acne. The goal of balanced oil production combined with rich-lipid moisturizers directly creates hydrated skin. Skin hydration is fundamental to having clear skin and pores. The truth is that we can’t have hydrated skin without lipids to prevent water loss. These ingredients WILL NOT clog your pores. What these ingredients do is trap water in your skin. Once water levels are raised, your skin will naturally want to release old congestion, and you may experience a temporary healing phase of detox. This temporary healing phase is being confused with clogged pores.

Sadly, acne sufferers are often told to avoid these ingredients like the plague while their skin craves these ingredients in order to heal.

Chronically dehydrated skin will undoubtably and forever have clogged pores, blackheads, compacted black heads, milia, and milia clusters. So essentially, it is the exact opposite…the withholding of the quality lipids listed above will cause clogged pores.

What Products Should You Use?

You see, most people’s skin is in a chronic state of dehydration due to over-cleansing, toning, over-scrubbing, astringents, essential oils, and coping with constant inflammation. The absence of a true and effective hydrating mist or serum combined with weak moisturizers, and anxiety from harsh anti-aging procedure are all causing chronic dehydration.

Water is hope for your skin, and the simple act of increasing water levels by preventing water loss with an oil can often trigger healing. People think they are clogging their pores and stop using a lipid-rich moisturizer or oils on their skin. As a result, their skin will dehydrate again, and the old congestion will go “back to bed,” but will still be right there under the surface. A detoxification process is often necessary to arrive with skin that is balanced, self cleansing, clear, gorgeously textured, and beaming.

​The myth, war, campaign, and ruthless search for only “noncomedogenic ingredients” is a fruitless dead end. Once again, an outdated industry barking up the wrong tree. Our skin is a process and stabilizing water levels the right way with beneficial lipids is wildly worth the reset.