There are many wonderful skin-saving ingredients, but there are even more skin-sabatogers likely hanging out in your favorite blush, moisturizer, and serum (formulated to treat acne, oh boy)!

There are two types of ingredients to avoid:

• Acnegenic
• Comedogenic 

Acnegenic is a reactive breakout that happens on skin from internal or external triggers. It can form overnight from products that contain highly irritating ingredients (external) or when you are experiencing acute or chronic stress (internal). Irritating ingredients could be preservatives, fragrance, essential oils, surfactants, and emulsifiers, as well as ingredients that are have a high or low pH or inherently drying on the skin fragrance, essential oils, glycolic acid, low molecular weight hyaluronic acid, sometimes salicylic acid, and snail mucin, but you could be uniquely intolerant to other ingredients as well, which is best to be discovered through a process of elimination.

Comedogenic describes skin that becomes congested with pore clogging substances (comedogens). When skin becomes stressed (internally or externally) the pores cannot exfoliate quick enough to keep themselves clean. When skin is mildly stressed, at best, clogs can grow into visible blackheads by mixing with your own sebum and skin and hair cells. Comedogens are lipids with a high viscosity, high in oleic, stearic, and lauric fatty acid, and a high melting point compared to skin temperature.  

If you are experiencing inflamed acne, comedogenic ingredients will be rooted in your acnegenic reactions. Comedogenicity can lead to acnegenic breakouts when the skin is trigger happy (over-reactive) because the skin has almost become auto-immune and sees the clogs as foreign, getting rid of them quickly.

But before your eyes go crossed, learn the TOP 10ish ACNE FORMING INGREDIENTS:

1. Nut and seed oils and butters
2. Ethyhexyl Palmitate
3. Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate
4. Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate
5. Laureth-4 and -7
6. Stearic Acid
7. Sorbitan Olivate
8. Lauroyl Lysine
9. Isopropyl Palminate & Myristate
10. Marine plant extracts

PLANT OILS & ESSENTIAL OILS
Plant oil may breed microorganisms associated with acne breakouts, masassezia folliculitis, perioral dermatitis, and staph infections. In addition, plant oils are prone to oxidation which can kickstart skin inflammation. Please note that oily substances like squalane (squalAne with an A, not on E) do not cause bacterial overgrowths or oxidation and can be safely used on your skin. In addition, small amounts of high linoleic plant oils that contain antioxidants, i.e. abysinnian oil, MAY not not enough to cause a skin imbalance.

Essential oils, when applied in undiluted concentration to face, neck, chest, and upper back, can be an unlikely trigger for acnegenic breakouts. They can also be the cause of itchiness and irritation. It is especially important to not apply the following to the skin due to the fact that they will throw off your skin's healthy bacteria:

• Angelica Essential Oil
• Cypress Essential Oil
• Germain Chamomile Essential Oil
• Grapefruit Essential Oil
• Lavender Essential Oil
• Lemon Essential Oil
• Peppermint Essential Oil
• Thyme Essential Oil

NATURAL PLANT BUTTERS

The following natural plant butters affect the skin the same way oils do--their use leads to clogged pores. Most natural ingredients have isolated benefits, but they do mix well with total healthy skin function. And then there are 'unnatural' butters which are hydrogenated oils--the hydrogenation process makes a liquid oil into more of a solid. Rule of thumb, stay away from butters! 

EVERYTHING ELSE!
Save this page, and check all your products (especially makeup, sunscreen, and haircare) against this list so that you have confidence your products are not creating more acne for your skin!