Ingredient decoder

Butyl stearate: is it comedogenic? What it does in skincare

INCI name: Butyl Stearate

Acne verdict High clog risk

Rated a pore-clogger

  • Comedogenic3 / 5
  • Irritancy0 / 5

What it does

Emollient ester that softens skin and adds slip.

  • Emollient
  • Masking
  • Skin conditioning

Butyl stearate in plain English

Butyl stearate is an oily ester used to soften skin and give nail polishes, lipsticks and creams a smooth feel. It was named alongside isopropyl myristate as a pore-clogger in rabbit-ear testing. Its rating comes from old rabbit-ear tests of the raw ingredient, which can overstate what happens with a finished product on human skin.

Is butyl stearate bad for acne?

It can be. Butyl stearate has a high clog risk rating for acne-prone skin. In Fulton's 1989 rabbit-ear test it scored 3 out of 5 for clogging pores and 0 out of 5 for irritation. That test used the raw ingredient, so a small amount in a finished product may behave differently. If you break out easily, check where it sits on the ingredient list: the higher it appears, the more of it the product usually contains.

Why it is flagged: Named alongside isopropyl myristate as a rabbit-ear pore-clogger.

Clean routine and still breaking out? The cause may be internal. See what is driving it

Also called

  • Butyl Stearate
  • Butyl octadecanoate

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Frequently asked questions

Is butyl stearate comedogenic?

Butyl stearate scored 3 out of 5 for comedogenicity in Fulton's 1989 rabbit-ear study, where 0 means no clogging and 5 means severe. That is a moderate rating. The test used the raw ingredient, so a finished product may behave differently.

What does butyl stearate do in skincare?

In short: emollient ester that softens skin and adds slip. In formulas it is used for emollient, masking and skin conditioning.

What else is butyl stearate called on ingredient labels?

On ingredient lists, butyl stearate can also appear as Butyl octadecanoate.

Sources