Co
Coconut Oil
Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil · Cocos Nucifera Oil · Cocos NuciferaBarrier
A rich body moisturizer, common in oil cleansers. Its fats can feed fungal acne; pore-clogging was tested only on rabbit ears.
What it does
It’s mostly saturated fat and works well as a body moisturizer and in oil cleansers. It has a reputation for clogging pores on the face, but that rests on animal tests. Its fats can feed the yeast behind fungal acne (small, itchy, same-size bumps). It’s solid below 76°F (24°C).
The evidence, graded
expert consensusFungal acne is Malassezia folliculitis — an overgrowth of a yeast already living in normal skin flora, commonly mistaken for ordinary acne. In a culture dish the yeast grows only when fatty acids longer than C10 are added, because it cannot make its own. That is why Drop holds lipid-rich products back while you have this flagged. No source Drop has read tested an oil on skin, set an upper chain length, or showed squalane, MCT or mineral oil to be safe.Rubenstein 2014 · Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology ↗
expert consensusSeborrheic dermatitis is associated with Malassezia (similar to fungal acne). The drug ingredients with evidence behind them are antifungal: ketoconazole 2%, zinc pyrithione 1% and selenium sulfide 2.5%. Oils are the skincare-side variable — applying oleic acid, the fatty acid in olive oil, made dandruff-prone skin flake in the one study read here.Borda 2015 · Journal of Clinical and Investigative Dermatology ↗
emergingIn rabbit-ear tests, isopropyl myristate, isopropyl palmitate, cocoa butter and other esters clogged pores, while petrolatum and paraffin did not; a 1989 test graded “coconut butter” 4 of 5. The rabbit test is more sensitive than human skin, and whether high scorers clog human pores is uncertain. In a small human test, finished products with them did not necessarily clog pores. The 1989 test graded mineral oil 0 to 2, squalane and dimethicone 1, glycerin 0; hyaluronic acid is untested.Nguyen 2007 · Cutaneous and Ocular Toxicology ↗
Graded per the methodology: strong · moderate · emerging · expert consensus. A weak source on a strong claim gets the weaker label.
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