Palm Kernel Oil
Plant oil · INCI: Elaeis Guineensis (Palm) Kernel 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 Palm Kernel Oil comedogenic?
Yes. Palm Kernel 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
Palm kernel oil is very high in lauric acid, the same short saturated fat that makes coconut oil a problem for acne-prone skin. It appears consistently on the pore-clogging references we curate against, and we read it as one of the higher-risk plant oils to leave on the face.
The nuance
It is not the same as palm oil, which is pressed from the fruit rather than the seed, though we flag both. Rinse-off and body use is a far smaller concern than a leave-on facial product.
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: What acne actually is.