Sesame Oil
Plant oil · INCI: Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Oil
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 Sesame Oil comedogenic?
Sometimes. Sesame Oil 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
Sesame seed oil is a rich, aromatic oil with a long history in body and massage products. It sits in the middle of our pore-clogging references, flagged but not at the top, so we read it as one to use with caution on acne-prone facial skin.
The nuance
Its usual home is body oils and traditional preparations, where it is applied generously. A small amount in a facial formula is a much smaller concern.
Names we read the same way
- Sesame Seed Oil
- Sesamum Indicum Seed Oil
- Sesame Seed
- Sesamum Indicum
- Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Oil
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.