Ingredient decoder

Evening primrose oil: is it comedogenic? What it does in skincare

INCI name: Oenothera Biennis (Evening Primrose) Oil

Acne verdict Watch

Worth watching on acne-prone skin

  • Comedogenic3 / 5
  • Irritancy2 / 5

What it does

Plant oil rich in gamma-linolenic acid.

  • Emollient

Evening primrose oil in plain English

Evening primrose oil is a plant oil rich in gamma-linolenic acid, used to soften and condition skin. It rates low to moderate with mixed data. Comedogenic ratings like this come from old rabbit-ear tests of raw ingredients, so treat them as a rough guide.

Is evening primrose oil bad for acne?

Not usually, but it is worth watching. Evening primrose oil is not a proven pore-clogger, but it is flagged for acne-prone skin for the reason below. In Fulton's 1989 rabbit-ear test it scored 3 out of 5 for clogging pores and 2 out of 5 for irritation. Notice how your skin reacts when a product lists it near the top.

Why it is flagged: Rates low to moderate with mixed data.

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

Also called

  • Oenothera Biennis (Evening Primrose) Oil
  • Oenothera biennis oil

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Frequently asked questions

Is evening primrose oil comedogenic?

Evening primrose oil 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 evening primrose oil do in skincare?

In short: plant oil rich in gamma-linolenic acid. In formulas it is used for emollient.

What else is evening primrose oil called on ingredient labels?

On ingredient lists, evening primrose oil can also appear as Oenothera Biennis (Evening Primrose) Oil or Oenothera biennis oil.

Sources