Lauryl Alcohol
Fatty alcohol · INCI: Lauryl Alcohol
Reviewed by Elysiana Aguilar, master esthetician
How we read it
Not a pore-clogger. Considered safe for acne-prone skin.
Is Lauryl Alcohol comedogenic?
No. Lauryl 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
Lauryl alcohol is one of the shorter fatty alcohols, usually made from coconut or palm kernel oil and used in small amounts to build foam and thickness in a cleanser or soften a lotion. It is better known as the starting material for many surfactants. We read it as not pore-clogging.
The nuance
The name sits close to ingredients we do flag, including lauric acid and sodium lauryl sulfate, and each is a separate call. Some sources list lauryl alcohol itself as a concern. Ours do not, and it is often in products that get rinsed away.
Where it shows up
It appears in shampoos, body washes and foaming facial cleansers, and now and then in lotions and 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.