What is Sodium Chloride?
Sodium Chloride falls into the other category — a cosmetic ingredient. Common salt scores a surprising 5 on the classic comedogenic assay, likely a mechanical effect; in most rinse-off or low-salt formulas the practical risk is small.
You may see it on labels as Sodium Chloride, Salt, so it can hide under more than one name in an ingredient list.
Where Sodium Chloride shows up
As a cosmetic ingredient, Sodium Chloride typically appears in a range of cosmetic products. Separately from clogging, its irritancy is rated 3/5 — high enough to be worth noting for sensitive skin.
Is Sodium Chloride bad for acne-prone skin?
For breakout-prone skin, a rating this high is a genuine flag. What matters most is where Sodium Chloride sits on the label: near the top it's a real consideration, near the bottom it's usually a trace amount.
Worth flagging: Sodium Chloride'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 Sodium Chloride, 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).