Behenyl Alcohol
Fatty alcohol / thickener · INCI: Behenyl Alcohol
Reviewed by Elysiana Aguilar, master esthetician
How we read it
Not a pore-clogger. Considered safe for acne-prone skin.
Is Behenyl Alcohol comedogenic?
No. Behenyl Alcohol isn't considered pore-clogging, and we read it as safe to use on acne-prone skin. That doesn't make it right for everyone, but congestion isn't the thing to watch for with it.
Why we read it this way
Behenyl alcohol is a long-chain fatty alcohol, a hard waxy solid that thickens a cream and gives it a smooth, dry finish in place of a greasy one. It also helps hold an emulsion steady over time. We read it as not pore-clogging.
The nuance
Fatty alcohols get treated as one group, and they are not. We read cetyl alcohol with caution and flag myristyl alcohol, while we do not flag behenyl alcohol at all. It is there as structure for the cream, in modest amounts.
Where it shows up
Face creams, eye creams, sunscreens and cream foundations use it for texture, and it is also common in hair conditioners and styling creams.
Related ingredients
One ingredient rarely tells the whole story. The acne ingredient checker reads everything in a product at once, and there is more on what comedogenic means. Also in the guides: What causes acne.