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Palmitic Acid

Palmitic AcidBarrier

C16 free fatty acid. Feeds Malassezia growth — avoid if you have fungal acne or seborrheic dermatitis.

What it does

Malassezia yeasts (the species responsible for fungal acne / pityrosporum folliculitis) cannot synthesize their own long-chain fatty acids and depend on the host environment for them. Wilde & Stewart 1968 established experimentally that the yeast requires fatty acids longer than C10 in its substrate to grow — C12 through C24 (lauric through lignoceric) directly support growth, while shorter chains (C8 capric, C10 caprylic) and the medium-to-long-chain esters used as commercial emollients do not. Palmitic Acid (C16) is squarely inside the range that supports Malassezia growth, so it's a documented fungal-acne trigger when used at typical emollient levels.

The evidence, graded

expert consensusFungal acne (Malassezia folliculitis) is fed by fatty acids and esters with C11-C24 chain lengths. Many oils marketed as 'safe for acne-prone skin' make fungal acne worse. Squalane, MCT, and mineral oil are typically tolerated.Rubenstein 2014 · Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology ↗

Graded per the methodology: strong · moderate · emerging · expert consensus. A weak source on a strong claim gets the weaker label.

Also known as

hexadecanoic acid

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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