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Dermatologist Recommended

What makeup labels actually mean

Makeup Label Reading Ingredients

Certain makeup products can clog your pores and trigger a breakout if you have acne-prone skin. Walking through the aisles of a drugstore or beauty store can be overwhelming with the zillions of products everywhere. If you want to avoid breakouts, the best thing you can do is check a product's label.

It's important to always check the label on makeup and see which ingredients are being used! Ingredients that trigger breakouts are frequently called comedogenic (Which means they cause comedones = causing blackheads and whiteheads).

What are the absolute worst ingredients in makeup? Try never to buy products that contain:

Myristyl myristate

Laureth-4

Isopropyl iso-stearate

Isopropyl myristate

Oleth-3

These products above can trigger acne breakouts — not fun. The next products we're going to list are slightly less comedogenic but can still trigger a breakout, so it's best to avoid these as well:

Soybean oil

Stearic acid: TEA

Myristic acid

Glyceryl stearate SE

Lauric acid

Isopropyl palmitate

Cetearyl alcohol + ceteareth 20

Cocoa butter

Okay — that's the bad. Avoid all of these above! Now, onto the good stuff — the ingredients your skin will love! Always look for products that are labeled with these terms:

Non-comedogenic: These are products that have been found NOT to cause blackheads or whiteheads. You always want to use non-comedogenic makeup.

Mineral-based: These are powders that induce less irritation and fewer pore-clogging problems than regular liquid-based makeups. Typical examples are zinc oxide and titanium oxide. Try a mineral-based powder and see if you like it!

Hypoallergenic: These products were tested on users and were found to induce significantly fewer allergic reactions.

So, next time you struggle with which makeup you want to buy, remember this list and check the labels! Your skin will thank you for it.

To find the right acne treatments for your unique skin, take the free skin assessment by clicking here.

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