How to Use InciDecoder – The Best Online Acne Comedogenic Ingredient Checker
Do you check your skincare for acne safety before using? YOU SHOULD!!
Why? On average, 80-90% of skincare on the market contains comedogenic (pore clogging) ingredients that can cause tiny white acne like this:
It takes me (a professional acne healer) at least three treatments to get product clogs out of someone's skin. That's a lot of time and money for something that could be avoided with a quick check.
Companies can label products "non-comedogenic" even if it's not true.
Beauty companies are not required to any run tests or disclose this information – and sometimes they straight up say something is "non-comedogenic" when it's not.
Sometimes they even straight up misrepresent their products (intentionally or unintentionally).
Most comedogenic online tools are highly flawed.
There are several online comedogenic ingredient checkers. However, most are owned by acne-focused companies that specifically omit scientifically confirmed comedogenic ingredients from their online tool that are used in some of their skincare products.
For example, ClearStem's YouAreSunshine SPF 30 contains cetearyl alcohol and steareth alcohol. When I run a test on their website, nothing comes up. But run it on my trusted provider's site (or check the scientific paper on comedogenic ingredients) and pore cloggers show up.
This feels very upsetting because people with acne already deal with trust issues with the beauty industry. We need honesty, transparency, and truth.
So who can you trust?
Meet incidecoder.com. This website was built by independently passionate people who care deeply about public access to scientific data for cosmetics.
There are several comedogenic ingredient checkers online and none of them are perfect. Incidecoder does far and away the best job checking for acne-safe skincare.
Though it's accurate, it's not very user-friendly. So I made this short 6 min. tutorial video for you to see exactly how I use it!
I cannot stress this– pore clogging products are the norm!! Again 80-90% of the products on the market are not safe for acne people.
Even companies making products for acne people make mistakes. The only way to know is to check for yourself. And it's completely free!
I invite you into this fun exercise!
Checking Your Skincare/Makeup for Acne Safety
- Look up your cosmetic product at incidecoder.com (if it's not listed, you can put the ingredients of your product in the "Decode Inci" tab).
- Click "more" under the "Skim through" section.
- Check to see if any of the second numbers in the "irr., com." column are 2-5 (in yellow or red). If so, this product has comedogenic ingredients and you will want to find a replacement to stop product acne from forming.
- Second scan – if your product came up without any comedogenic ratings 2-5, do a secondary check for any untested carrier oils or butters.
- Rest at peace knowing your product is NOT causing you acne!
Someday it would be my dream to create an easy to use tool for this. Until that day, incidecoder is by far the best, more accurate, and unbiased resource on the subject.
If you need help finding new, non-comedogenic products, you can go shopping with the incidecoder site. All the skincare I create is non-comedogenic (but feel free to check it for yourself too!). And I still have my free list of over 140+ acne-safe makeup, spf, hair, and body products available too.
I hope this helps! I know this subject can be annoying, confusing, and frustrating. But hopefully this post made it a bit more empowering, fun, and enjoyable for you.
Still need help? Schedule a consultation with me! I help create extremely effective plans to lift people out of acne and keep them clear for life! Reach out if you feel stuck. We can heal this together.
Yours always in health, happiness, freedom, and joy,
I've helped over 1,800 acne clients in achieving the clear skin they deserve. The average client achieves clear skin in just 10-12 weeks. And can keep it clear for life.
