Ingredient · emulsifier

Cetyl Alcohol

Cetyl Alcohol is an emulsifier: it keeps oil and water mixed so a cream doesn't separate. A fatty alcohol — softening, not drying.

Cetyl Alcohol at a glance

FunctionEmulsifier
Comedogenic rating2/5
Irritation potentialLow
Also listed asNone
How commonOn 1,561 of 21,918 product labels in Pori's copy of Open Beauty Facts

Is Cetyl Alcohol 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
NormalNeutralA fatty alcohol — softening, not drying.
DryNeutralA fatty alcohol — softening, not drying.
OilyNeutralA fatty alcohol — softening, not drying.
CombinationNeutralA fatty alcohol — softening, not drying.
SensitiveNeutralA fatty alcohol — softening, not drying.

Is Cetyl Alcohol comedogenic?

It has a comedogenic rating of 2 out of 5 in Pori's ingredient database, a low-to-moderate rating. 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.

How do I check a product with Cetyl Alcohol?

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.