Propylene Glycol Monostearate
Emulsifier · INCI: Propylene Glycol Monostearate
Reviewed by Elysiana Aguilar, master esthetician
How we read it
Clogs pores for some people. Fine for many, worth watching if you're mid-breakout.
Is Propylene Glycol Monostearate comedogenic?
Sometimes. Propylene Glycol Monostearate is potentially pore-clogging, so we read it as one to use with caution. Plenty of people use it without trouble; if you're actively treating acne, it's worth watching.
Why we read it this way
Propylene glycol monostearate is a waxy emulsifier and thickener, and unlike the PEG-based stearates it is not made water-dispersible. It behaves closer to a fatty ester, and it sits at a moderate level on our references, so we read it as one to use with caution.
The nuance
It is a structural ingredient rather than an active, usually a few percent at most. Whether it matters depends on how rich the rest of the formula already is.
Names we read the same way
- PG Monostearate
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 causes acne.