8 Noncomedogenic Oils That Won't Clog Your Pores, According To Derms  

Listen, I think it's fair to say that most skin care and beauty fans have moved past the notion that acne-prone folks can't use oils. Sure, the myth still persists on some level (i.e., "oil-free" marketing), but for the most part, we've cleared the air and said definitively: If your pores clog easily or your skin tends to break out, you can still use facial oils in your routine.

But, I will say, there's good reason the advice stuck around for so long. And that's because not all oils are created equal: Some oil options out there certainly do contribute to clogged pores. It's a concept we know in the beauty industry as "comedogenic and noncomedogenic." And that's why if you do have acne-prone skin, you should always look for noncomedogenic oils when adding them to your routine. 

Comedogenic and noncomedogenic refer to how likely a substance is to create comedones, another word for clogged pores. Noncomedogenic products are those that are not known to create pore blockage; on the other end of the spectrum, when something is comedogenic, it can. This often leads to sebum plugs, blackheads, and pimples. 

"Spectrum" is an important word in that last sentence. This should be seen as a sliding scale with a whole lot of gray room (we explain some of the nuance in detail at the end of this article); labeling something as one or the other is not black and white.

The liquid extracted from the seeds of a perennial shrub called the Simmondsia chinensis plant, this much-beloved oil is structurally very similar to our skin's natural sebum, or the oil you produce naturally. This means the skin is better at tolerating it. "Jojoba makes an excellent moisturizer for dryness since the active components of jojoba oil mimic the body's natural oils due to its waxy nature. The oil is made up of mostly fatty acids and wax esters," says naturopathic medicine practitioner Tess Marshall, N.D.

Rosehip seed oil is the result of extracting the oils from a small bright-red berry-like seed pod of two types of wild roses—Rosa moschata or Rosa rubiginosa. The inside of a rosehip is a bright orange, which is where the oil gets its notorious bright orangey-red color. "I LOVE rosehip seed oil. It's one of my favorite ingredients. Rosehip oil is a fantastic moisturizer that does not break people out. It's good for all skin types, especially dry, acne-prone or rosacea-prone," says holistic dermatologist Cybele Fishman, M.D.

Quite the trendy ingredient of late, hemp seed oil. But as with most zietgeist-y ingredients, there's a significant amount of confusion. So let's establish exactly what we're referring to when we talk about hemp seed oil: People often confuse hemp seed oil and hemp oil (also known as hemp oil extract) for CBD and vice versa, but there are a few key differences between them. All are members of the cannabis family but come from different parts of the cannabis plant: Hemp seed oil is cold-pressed from the seeds of the plant and does not contain CBD. 

This classic essential oil has a long history of use for acne-prone skin. That's because it works: Thanks to tea tree oil's antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, it's beloved as a natural acne remedy. One double-blind placebo-controlled study found that a 5% tea tree oil gel blend was an effective treatment for mild to moderate acne2.

A lesser-known oil, tamanu oil is extracted from the seeds of the tamanu nut tree (technically a type of evergreen, called calophyllum inophyllum, found in the South Pacific). The oil—along with bark and leaves—has been touted for centuries in African, Asian, Polynesian, and Pacific Island cultures. According to cosmetic chemist Ron Robinson, founder of BeautyStat, it's an emollient (meaning it fills in microcracks in the skin), and it "might have anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antimicrobial activities." 

While this term is pretty standard in the beauty industry at this point, it's not without fault. Namely: Experts can't seem to agree on a standard practice to rate and rank ingredients. There are "comedogenic scales" and lists out there, but each varies quite a bit, and none functions as an official tool used by dermatologists or cosmetic chemists. So what we're left with is sifting through the research—or in some cases, anecdotal evidence—to figure out what ingredients are more likely to cause clogged pores. Additionally, the term isn't regulated by the FDA, so brands are free to use it as a marketing tool, even if their formula could trigger breakouts (which breeds mistrust for the consumer).

To understand how we got here, it's important to understand this history of the concept. The comedogenic scale (ranking from 0 to 5) was first established in the '70s by dermatologist Albert Kligman, M.D., who actually helped pioneer Retin-A. In it, the researchers used the rabbit ear model5. This is enough to give pause for a few reasons, says cosmetic chemist Krupa Koestline. The first is that rabbit ears are far more sensitive than human skin, and thus what might trigger acne on the animal might be just fine for human use. The second reason is that no modern literature has been done to confirm this test's efficacy of use.