What is Agar?
Chemically, Agar is a texture-building thickener. A red-algae polysaccharide used as a gelling agent in masks and jelly textures. It belongs to the same algal-derivative family as carrageenan and algin, which rate 5 and 4 on this grid. It is named on the CLEARSTEM and AcneClinicNYC pore-clogging ingredient lists, but neither publishes a 0-5 comedogenic score for it and no Fulton-derived table we cite carries one. We therefore leave it unrated rather than invent a number — treat the listing itself as the signal.
You may see it on labels as Agar, Agar Agar, Agarose, Gelidium Extract, so it can hide under more than one name in an ingredient list.
Where Agar shows up
Agar is commonly formulated into gels, serums, and lotions, where it controls consistency.
Is Agar bad for acne-prone skin?
Because no reliable comedogenic score exists for Agar, judge it by how your own skin responds rather than by a number.
Worth flagging: Agar's rating is disputed. Credible sources land on different numbers, which is why we show a range rather than a single score — and why your own experience is the best tiebreaker.