Pore-Clogging Ingredients Checker

This checker is for clogged pores: blackheads and whiteheads, and small bumps under the skin with no redness or soreness. If those keep appearing in the same places, such as along your hairline, jaw or forehead, a product you use may be clogging your pores.

Ingredients that are more likely to clog pores are called comedogenic. A clogged pore can stay a blackhead or a whitehead, and in some people it becomes a red, sore breakout.

If your breakouts are mostly red and sore, the products you use are rarely the only cause. That is inflamed acne, and it needs a different plan.

• A match does not mean the product will clog your pores. How likely it is depends on how much of the ingredient the product contains, the rest of the formula, and your skin.
• No match does not guarantee a product will not clog your pores. Our list covers the ingredients most often linked to clogged pores rather than every possible one.
• Most of the research behind pore-clogging lists tested single ingredients on their own, often at higher amounts than a finished product contains. A finished formula can behave differently, which is why a match is a reason to look more closely rather than a final answer.
• If you think a product is clogging your pores, stop using it and watch the area for about three months. The congestion you can see today began forming deep in the pore around ninety days earlier, which is why a change takes that long to show.
• Check everything that touches the area, including hair products, which can clog pores along your hairline, forehead and back.