Ingredient
Carrageenan
Seaweed extract / thickener · INCI: Chondrus Crispus Extract
Reviewed by Elysiana, licensed esthetician
How we read it
Known to clog pores. If you break out easily, this is the one to skip.
Is Carrageenan comedogenic?
Yes. Carrageenan 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
Carrageenan is a gelling agent extracted from red seaweed, used to give gels and lotions their body. It falls inside the marine algae family that our references group together, and we read it the same way as the rest of that family.
It is a thickener used at low levels, so its share of a formula is small. A marine ingredient near the bottom of a list is a different proposition from one near the top.
One ingredient rarely tells the whole story. Run the whole label and see everything in the product at once.