Pore Clogging Ingredients

"Noncomedogenic" basically means "non pore clogging". You've probably seen "won't clog pores" or noncomedogenic on products before but how can you be sure? We've all learned by now that it's hard to trust advertising and packaging claims, especially when they are products of a big faceless company. Handmade, approachable, small time sellers are usually more trust worthy as they are often up front about their ingredients - including why they include them in their formulas - but it's alway best to educate yourself first - it's your best line of defense about false or uneducated claims. Today I wanted to share with you a few ingredients to look out for when it comes to facial skin care. The last thing you want to do is use something that's supposed to clean or hydrate your skin that actually ends up clogging pores and causing breakouts. Although there are some exceptions to using comedogenic ingredients in your skin care routine, today I'll just stick with the general comedogenic ingredients that shouldn't be part of a daily routine.

Some of the most common ones are:

• Isopropyl myristate
• Cetyl alcohol
• Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS)
• Laureth-4
• Cocoa butter
• D & C red dyes.

Even the prescription acne medication Retin-A (in the cream form) has one of the worst offenders - isopropyl myristate. If that doesn't make you paranoid about who to trust with your skin, I don't know what would! Be your own advocate for your skin and check the ingredients.

If you have acne on your body and/or near your hairline, be sure and check your hair products, especially hair rinses that leave a residue on the hair. These could be contributing to body acne - beware of every product you put on your body and hair that might come into contact with places you find particularly prone to acne. Moreover, get rid of any products that are stripping your skin of it's natural oils! I know I've said this many times before, but I'll continue to say it because it's so important when it comes to combating skin problems! As soon as you use these types of products (think commercially made body wash, "beauty bars", and the like) that include detergents in them, your skin's natural oil balance becomes out of whack which results in overly dry skin or an over production of oil (both of which can cause breakouts)!