Butyl Stearate
Emollient ester · INCI: Butyl Stearate
Reviewed by Elysiana Aguilar, master esthetician
How we read it
Known to clog pores. If you break out easily, this is the one to skip.
Is Butyl Stearate comedogenic?
Yes. Butyl Stearate 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
Butyl stearate is a thin, oily ester of stearic acid and butyl alcohol that spreads easily and softens the waxy drag of lipsticks, eye makeup and creams. We read it as highly comedogenic.
The nuance
Stearate appears in many ingredient names, and they are not one family. We do not flag emulsifiers such as PEG-100 stearate, while this plain fatty ester is flagged. Products that stay on the face are where it counts.
Where it shows up
It appears in lipsticks, eye shadows and other color cosmetics, and in face creams and body lotions that want a thin oil that spreads without feeling heavy.
Related ingredients
One ingredient rarely tells the whole story. The acne ingredient checker reads everything in a product at once, the pore-clogging ingredients list has the rest of what we flag, and there is more on what comedogenic means. Also in the guides: The types of acne lesions.