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Ingredient

Algae

Marine algae / seaweed · INCI: Algae

Reviewed by Elysiana, licensed esthetician

How we read it

Highly comedogenic

Known to clog pores. If you break out easily, this is the one to skip.

Is Algae comedogenic?

Yes. Algae is a known pore-clogging ingredient, and we read it as highly comedogenic. If you're acne-prone, it's worth avoiding, especially when it sits near the top of an ingredient list.

Why we read it this way

Marine algae and seaweed derivatives are consistently grouped as pore-clogging for acne-prone skin. They reach labels under an enormous range of names, from plain Kelp, Seaweed or Spirulina through to Latin binomials like Macrocystis Pyrifera and Ascophyllum Nodosum, and the reading is the same across the family.

The nuance

They are usually used at low levels as thickeners or hydrating extracts, so how much is actually in a product varies a lot. A marine extract sitting low in an ingredient list is a different proposition from one near the top.

Names this covers

Labels list these organisms and derivatives under many different names, scientific and common. The checker reads all 111 of them the same way, so any of these on a label will flag:

One ingredient rarely tells the whole story. Run the whole label and see everything in the product at once.