Ingredient decoder

Oleic acid: is it comedogenic? What it does in skincare

INCI name: Oleic Acid

Acne verdict Moderate clog risk

Rated a pore-clogger

  • ComedogenicNo published rating
  • IrritancyNo published rating

What it does

Fatty acid that softens skin and helps form emulsions.

  • Emollient
  • Emulsifying

Oleic acid in plain English

Oleic acid is a fatty acid found in olive oil and many other plant oils, used to soften skin and help make soaps and emulsions. It can promote comedones and is even used to trigger them in lab models. It also helps other ingredients pass into skin. 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 oleic acid bad for acne?

It can be. Oleic acid has a moderate clog risk rating for acne-prone skin. It has no score of its own in Fulton's 1989 table and is flagged on classic comedogenic lists, often because of its chemical family. 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: A fatty acid that can promote comedones. It is used to trigger them in lab models.

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

Also called

  • Oleic Acid
  • Cis-9-octadecenoic acid

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Frequently asked questions

Is oleic acid comedogenic?

Oleic acid has no score of its own in Fulton's 1989 rabbit-ear table, but it is flagged as a pore-clogger on classic comedogenic lists. A fatty acid that can promote comedones. It is used to trigger them in lab models.

What does oleic acid do in skincare?

In short: fatty acid that softens skin and helps form emulsions. In formulas it is used for emollient and emulsifying.

What else is oleic acid called on ingredient labels?

On ingredient lists, oleic acid can also appear as Cis-9-octadecenoic acid.

Sources