What is Sesame Oil?
Sesame Oil (INCI name: Sesamum Indicum Seed Oil) is a plant- or seed-derived oil. A traditional massage oil commonly rated 2-3. Heavier than most seed oils, so it can sit in pores on oily skin.
You may see it on labels as Sesame Oil, Sesame, Sesame Seed, Sesamum Indicum, so it can hide under more than one name in an ingredient list.
Where Sesame Oil shows up
You'll most often find Sesame Oil in facial oils, cleansing balms, moisturisers, hair products, and many products marketed as natural. Separately from clogging, its irritancy is rated 0/5 — low, so it's unlikely to sting or sensitise on its own.
Is Sesame Oil bad for acne-prone skin?
Sesame Oil sits in the grey zone. Plenty of people tolerate it well; those who break out easily may prefer to keep it low on their ingredient lists.
Worth flagging: Sesame Oil'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.
Note for fungal-acne (malassezia) sufferers: Sesame Oil 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 Sesame Oil, these lower-risk ingredients serve a similar role and are gentler on pore-prone skin:
- Squalane — rated 1/5 (Low risk).
- Hemp Seed Oil — rated 0/5 (Low risk).
- Sunflower Oil — rated 0/5 (Low risk).