What is Coal Tar?
Chemically, Coal Tar is a cosmetic ingredient. A traditional psoriasis and dandruff active repeatedly named as pore-clogging in the high range.
You may see it on labels as Coal Tar, Liquor Picis Carbonis, Pix Carbonis, Creosote, so it can hide under more than one name in an ingredient list.
Where Coal Tar shows up
Coal Tar is commonly formulated into a range of cosmetic products. Separately from clogging, its irritancy is rated 2/5 — low, so it's unlikely to sting or sensitise on its own.
Is Coal Tar bad for acne-prone skin?
If you are acne-prone, Coal Tar is one to watch — especially when it appears in the first few ingredients, which means it's present at higher concentration. Lower down a long ingredient list, its practical impact drops considerably.
Worth flagging: Coal Tar'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.
Non-comedogenic alternatives
If you're avoiding Coal Tar, these lower-risk ingredients serve a similar role and are gentler on pore-prone skin:
- Squalane — rated 1/5 (Low risk).
- Niacinamide — rated 0/5 (Low risk).