Understanding the properties of the oil that is used to formulate your facial soap is very important to your purchase. Advertising is misleading. Many oils that are touted for skin use such as cocoa butter, coconut oil and wheat germ oil are the most comedogenic, or pore clogging because they are the highest in saturated fats.
Generally speaking, soaps made of soft oils or unsaturated fatty acids, have less chance of clogging the pores. Since the various vegetable oils used to make soap are a combination of saturated and unsaturated fats, the manufacturer needs to choose oils that contain the highest percentage of unsaturated fat. Look for oils like olive oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, flax seed oil, and hemp oil in the ingredient list of your soap. Soybean oil in particular is not pore clogging because it contains 70 -80% unsaturated fatty acid.
Water is another important factor for the results you achieve in washing your face. Avoid hard water or water with too much acidity. When the calcium and magnesium ions in hard water interact with soap, a wax like non-soluble precipitation will form that clogs the pores. Warm water will open pores to clean them and is not harsh to the skin like hot water.
One must consider all the factors to choose an appropriate soap.
This is a general guide for non-comedogenic, or non pore clogging ingredients based on user and soap makers’ experience.
Low Clogging Probability | Medium Clogging Probability | High Clogging Probability |
Almond Oil (Sweet Almond) | Corn Oil | Cocoa Butter |
Anhydrous Lanolin | Cottonseed Oil | Coconut Oil |
Apricot Kernel Oil | Crisco | Sodium Chloride (salt) |
Avocado Oil | Glyceryl Stearate SE | Wheat Germ Oil |
Beeswax | Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil | Extra Virgin Crude Pressed Oil |
Bentonite Clay | Mink Oil | |
Candelilla Wax | Soybean Oil | |
Castor Oil | Sulfonated Castor Oil | |
Cetearyl Alcohol | ||
Emulsifying Wax NF Emu Oil | ||
Evening Primrose Oil | ||
Glycerin | ||
Hydroxypropyl Cellulose | ||
Jojoba | ||
Kaolin Clay | ||
Olive Oil | ||
Peanut Oil | ||
Polysorbate 20 and 80 | ||
Safflower Oil | ||
Sesame Oil | ||
Stearic Acid | ||
Sunflower Oil | ||
Tocopherol | ||
Aloe Vera (cold pressed) |
