What is Lauric Acid?
Chemically, Lauric Acid is a fatty acid. A C12 saturated fatty acid abundant in coconut and palm-kernel oils. Rated 4/5 and a prime fatty-acid fuel for malassezia.
You may see it on labels as Lauric Acid, Dodecanoic Acid, so it can hide under more than one name in an ingredient list.
Where Lauric Acid shows up
Lauric Acid is commonly formulated into cleansers, cream bases, and bar soaps, where it builds texture and lather. Separately from clogging, its irritancy is rated 1/5 — low, so it's unlikely to sting or sensitise on its own.
Is Lauric Acid bad for acne-prone skin?
If you are acne-prone, Lauric Acid 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.
Note for fungal-acne (malassezia) sufferers: Lauric Acid is commonly avoided in fungal-acne routines, since it falls into the fatty-acid or ester families the yeast can feed on. The evidence there is looser than for comedogenicity — see our fungal-acne checker for context.
Non-comedogenic alternatives
If you're avoiding Lauric Acid, these lower-risk ingredients serve a similar role and are gentler on pore-prone skin: