Tocopherol
Antioxidant (vitamin E) · INCI: Tocopherol
Reviewed by Elysiana Aguilar, master esthetician
How we read it
Not a pore-clogger. Considered safe for acne-prone skin.
Is Tocopherol comedogenic?
No. Tocopherol isn't considered pore-clogging, and we read it as safe to use on acne-prone skin. That doesn't make it right for everyone, but congestion isn't the thing to watch for with it.
Why we read it this way
Tocopherol is the label name for vitamin E, an oil-soluble antioxidant used both for the skin and to keep the oils in a formula from turning rancid. Most products carry only a small amount of tocopherol. We read vitamin E in this form as not pore-clogging.
The nuance
Vitamin E is often said to break people out, and some sources read it more harshly than we do. A thick vitamin E oil used undiluted is a far heavier thing than the small amount of tocopherol sitting low on a label.
Where it shows up
It turns up in nearly anything that contains oils: facial oils, moisturizers, sunscreens, lip balms and foundations, usually in the last few lines of the ingredient list.
Names we read the same way
- Vitamin E
Related ingredients
One ingredient rarely tells the whole story. The acne ingredient checker reads everything in a product at once, and there is more on what comedogenic means. Also in the guides: The types of acne lesions.