Ingredient
Stearic Acid
Fatty acid · INCI: Stearic Acid
Reviewed by Elysiana, licensed esthetician
How we read it
Clogs pores for some people. Fine for many, worth watching if you're mid-breakout.
Is Stearic Acid comedogenic?
Sometimes. Stearic Acid 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
Stearic acid is a saturated fatty acid used to thicken creams and give them body. It sits in the middle of our references, flagged but not at the top, so we read it as one to use with caution rather than avoid outright.
It is very common in cleansers, where it is reacted into a soap and rinsed away. That is a much smaller concern than the same ingredient in a leave-on cream.
One ingredient rarely tells the whole story. Run the whole label and see everything in the product at once.