Ingredient · humectant

Betaine

Betaine is a humectant: it draws water into the top layer of skin and holds it there. Pori's ingredient rules rate it a good fit for every skin type.

Betaine at a glance

FunctionHumectant
Comedogenic rating0/5
Irritation potentialLow
Also listed asNone
How commonOn 416 of 21,918 product labels in Pori's copy of Open Beauty Facts

What does Betaine help with?

In Pori's database it's linked to dehydration. How much it helps depends on how high it sits on the label: ingredients are listed from most to least, and anything past roughly the tenth spot is usually present at 1% or less.

Is Betaine good for my skin type?

These ratings come from the same fixed rules Pori's ingredient scanner uses, applied to a typical profile for each skin type. Your own result in the app also weighs your scan results and concerns.

Skin typeRatingWhy
NormalGood fitHumectant
DryGood fitHumectant
OilyGood fitHumectant
CombinationGood fitHumectant
SensitiveGood fitHumectant

Is Betaine comedogenic?

It has a comedogenic rating of 0 out of 5 in Pori's ingredient database, so it's unlikely to clog pores. Ratings like this come from older tests on single ingredients, and a finished product with it isn't necessarily pore-clogging. A 2006 study in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology found that finished products made with comedogenic ingredients were not necessarily comedogenic, so treat the number as a hint, not a verdict.

Which products contain Betaine?

Products in Pori's curated catalogue that list it as a key ingredient:

  • Kate Somerville DeliKate Soothing Cleanser (cleanser)
  • Murad Resurgence Renewing Cleansing Cream (cleanser)
  • Skinfood Egg White Pore Foam (cleanser)
  • Mizon Rose sheet mask (mask)

How do I check a product with Betaine?

Scan the barcode or photograph the ingredient list with Pori's ingredient scanner (a Pro feature). It rates every ingredient for your skin type, flags fragrance, pore-clogging and irritating ingredients, and gives the product an overall match score. It's a guide to ingredients, not a diagnosis, so see a dermatologist about any reaction.

Keep reading

Ingredient data from Pori's ingredient database; product counts from Open Beauty Facts (ODbL). General information, not medical advice.