Is
Isopropyl Myristate
Isopropyl MyristateBarrier
Silky synthetic emollient. Excellent slip; flagged comedogenic in older comedogenicity rankings.
What it does
Isopropyl myristate is a fatty alcohol ester used to give formulations a silky, fast-absorbing skin feel. It's common in lightweight body lotions and some facial moisturizers. Older comedogenicity studies put it on the moderate-to-high end, though the methodology of those rankings has been criticized. If you're acne-prone and find a moisturizer that breaks you out, IPM near the top of the INCI is one of the candidates worth ruling out.
The evidence, graded
moderateSome occlusives (cocoa butter, coconut oil, isopropyl myristate, certain plant butters) can be comedogenic on acne-prone skin. Lighter occlusives (squalane, mineral oil, hyaluronic acid, glycerin) are generally non-comedogenic in published data.Kligman 1972 · Archives of Dermatology ↗
Graded per the methodology: strong · moderate · emerging · expert consensus. A weak source on a strong claim gets the weaker label.
Also known as
ipm
This page is public and indexed on purpose (unlike profiles and drops, which are unlisted) — it’s the citation behind shared ingredient cards, and it should be findable.
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