Skin Care

6 Ingredients that Clog Pores -- and Where to Find Them

Steer clear of these culprits for clear skin.

by Melanie Rud Chadwick | COMMENT

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Why Do Clogs Happen in the First Place? Let's start with why and how a pore gets clogged, shall we? Dead cells build up along the walls of the pore, and are then coated with sebum, creating a blockage, explains celebrity esthetician Renée Rouleau. That can then manifest as a blackhead, a whitehead or a pimple, all of which are known as comedones. Ingredients that are comedogenic (aka likely to create comedones), also coat the walls of the pore, upping the likelihood of a clog. And this is even more problematic and likely to happen if you have oily skin and there's more sebum to being with. But, to that point, if your complexion is naturally super dry, even commonly comedogenic ingredients may not pose an issue for you.

So how do you know if a product will clog your pores? Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but, unfortunately, there's no surefire way of knowing. While you can find lists of comedogenic ingredients online, both Rouleau and Arch are quick to note that those aren't foolproof. As a general rule, if your skin is oily or acneic, it's not a bad idea to steer clear of those (and especially the six that they deemed as the most potentially problematic, which we'll get to in a sec). And because it's not just about the ingredient, but the formula as a whole, Arch suggests that oily skin types also avoid occlusive products -- heavy ointments and creams that create a barrier on the skin. If you want to determine for sure whether a product is going to cause clogs, you can test it out on a small spot on your back or chest, suggests Arch. Applying it twice a day for two weeks will give you a good sense as to whether or not it will clog pores when applied on your face, she explains.

SEE NEXT PAGE: Beware of the Term 'Non-Comedogenic'

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