Mink Oil
Animal oil · INCI: Mink Oil
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 Mink Oil comedogenic?
Yes. Mink Oil 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
Mink oil is a fat rendered from mink, used as a soft, fast-spreading emollient that conditions skin and hair and leaves a sheen. We read it as highly comedogenic, in line with the other animal fats we flag for acne-prone facial skin.
The nuance
It is an uncommon ingredient now, and hair care is one of the places it still turns up. What goes on the hair still reaches the hairline, forehead and back, which is where that kind of product tends to matter.
Where it shows up
Hair conditioners, hair sprays, shine serums and pomades, plus some rich hand creams, body lotions and tanning oils.
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.