Ingredient decoder

Decyl oleate: is it comedogenic? What it does in skincare

INCI name: Decyl Oleate

Acne verdict High clog risk

Rated a pore-clogger

  • Comedogenic3 / 5
  • Irritancy0 / 5

What it does

Emollient ester that softens skin and helps spreading.

  • Emollient
  • Skin conditioning

Decyl oleate in plain English

Decyl oleate is a light, oily ester used to soften skin and help creams and lotions spread. It was named alongside isopropyl myristate as a pore-clogger in rabbit-ear testing, so acne-prone skin may want to skip it in leave-on products. 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 decyl oleate bad for acne?

It can be. Decyl oleate 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

  • Decyl Oleate
  • Decyl 9-octadecenoate

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Frequently asked questions

Is decyl oleate comedogenic?

Decyl oleate 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 decyl oleate do in skincare?

In short: emollient ester that softens skin and helps spreading. In formulas it is used for emollient and skin conditioning.

What else is decyl oleate called on ingredient labels?

On ingredient lists, decyl oleate can also appear as Decyl 9-octadecenoate.

Sources