Pore Clog Checker

Is Shea Butter Pore-Clogging?

With a comedogenic rating of 2–4 out of 5, Shea Butter lands in the moderate zone: fine for many people, worth watching if you clog easily.

That is the moderate tier — it depends on your skin. Shea Butter congests some people and not others, so its position on the ingredient list and your own history with it matter more than the number alone. Shea Butter is a rich, semi-solid plant butter. Genuinely disputed: many dermatology sources rate shea butter 0-2 and consider it well tolerated, while several pore-clogging lists rate it as high as 4. Patch-test if you are very acne-prone. Published sources disagree on the exact figure, which is why we show the range 2–4 rather than a single score. If you clog easily, Squalane (1/5) and Mango Butter (2/5) fill a similar role with a lower rating.

Comedogenic rating
2–4/5 · Moderate
Irritancy
0/5
Category
Butter
Moderate · 2–4/5ButterFungal-acne flaggedDisputed rating

Check Shea Butter inside your own product

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3 pore-clogging ingredients found

Recognized 9 of 9 listed ingredients.

Your report: 9 ingredients checked, 3 pore-clogging

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  • Cocoa Butter
    Butter · disputed
    High risk · 4–5/5

    A thick, occlusive butter. Most lists rate it 4 while some place it at 5; either way it is high-risk and best kept off acne-prone areas.

    Gentler swaps: Squalane, Mango Butter

  • High risk · 4/5

    A whipped coconut fat with the same fatty-acid profile as coconut oil, rated 4/5.

    Gentler swaps: Squalane, Mango Butter

  • Shea Butter
    Butter · disputed
    Moderate · 2–4/5

    Genuinely disputed: many dermatology sources rate shea butter 0-2 and consider it well tolerated, while several pore-clogging lists rate it as high as 4. Patch-test if you are very acne-prone.

    Gentler swaps: Squalane, Mango Butter

  • Glycerin
    Humectant
    Low risk · 0/5

    A universal humectant rated 0/5. Non-comedogenic and fungal-acne safe, suitable for all skin types.

  • Cetearyl Alcohol
    Fatty alcohol
    Low risk · 2/5

    A blend of cetyl and stearyl alcohols used as an emollient thickener. Rated 2/5; fatty alcohols are considered fungal-acne safe.

  • Dimethicone
    Silicone · disputed
    Low risk · 1/5

    A breathable silicone that smooths and blurs. Rated 1/5 and fungal-acne safe; occasionally blamed for congestion when layered heavily, but the ingredient itself is low-risk.

  • Squalane
    Emollient
    Low risk · 1/5

    The stable, hydrogenated form of squalene. Rated 0-1, lightweight, and one of the go-to fungal-acne-safe emollients. Do not confuse with squalene.

  • Low risk · 2/5

    Vitamin E, a common antioxidant rated 2/5. Widely used at low levels where its clogging impact is minimal.

  • Phenoxyethanol
    Preservative
    Low risk · 0/5

    A broad-spectrum preservative rated 0/5 for clogging, mildly irritating for a few.

From our data: Our database holds 7 butter ingredients and 2 of them score 4 or higher for pore-clogging potential; the group averages 2.9/5. Shea Butter rates 2–4/5 — 0.9 below the butter average of 2.9.

What is Shea Butter?

Chemically, Shea Butter (INCI name: Butyrospermum Parkii Butter) is a rich, semi-solid plant butter. Genuinely disputed: many dermatology sources rate shea butter 0-2 and consider it well tolerated, while several pore-clogging lists rate it as high as 4. Patch-test if you are very acne-prone.

You may see it on labels as Shea Butter, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Butyrospermum Parkii, Shea, so it can hide under more than one name in an ingredient list.

Where Shea Butter shows up

Shea Butter is commonly formulated into body butters, rich face and hand creams, lip balms, and hair masks. Separately from clogging, its irritancy is rated 0/5 — low, so it's unlikely to sting or sensitise on its own.

Is Shea Butter bad for acne-prone skin?

A moderate rating means Shea Butter clogs some people and not others. If you're prone to congestion, patch-test a product that features it prominently before committing.

Worth flagging: Shea Butter'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: Shea Butter 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 Shea Butter, these lower-risk ingredients serve a similar role and are gentler on pore-prone skin:

Related ingredient checks

People checking Shea Butter usually check these next. You can also paste a whole label into the pore-clog checker or browse the full pore-clogging ingredients list.

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Sources

Informational only, not medical advice. Comedogenic ratings are a screening guide; individual skin varies.