What a 1/5 rating means
On the comedogenic scale, a 1 sits at the safe end of the scale — clogging is unlikely for most people. That places Caprylic Acid in the range most people, including many with acne-prone skin, tolerate well.
One thing the number cannot tell you is concentration. Ingredients are listed in descending order, so Caprylic Acid near the end of a label is present in tiny amounts and matters far less than the same ingredient near the top.
About Caprylic Acid
It is a fatty acid, one of the building blocks of oils and a common texture and cleansing agent. A short C8 fatty acid rated 1/5. Below the malassezia chain-length range, so usually treated as fungal-acne safe.
On a label it can read as Caprylic Acid, Octanoic Acid — worth knowing when you scan an ingredient deck.
Caprylic Acid in makeup and skincare
It shows up in cleansing balms, cream cleansers, and the base of many creams and pressed powders. Its irritancy is rated separately at 3/5, which is worth noting for sensitive or reactive skin.
Caprylic Acid comedogenic FAQ
Is Caprylic Acid comedogenic?
Not usually. Caprylic Acid is rated 1/5, which is low risk on the 0–5 comedogenic scale, so it is unlikely to clog pores for most people, including many with acne-prone skin.
What is the comedogenic rating of Caprylic Acid?
Caprylic Acid has a comedogenic rating of 1/5 (low risk). Of the 190 ingredients in our dataset with a published rating, 132 rate higher than Caprylic Acid, 28 rate lower, and 29 others share its 1/5. Among the 8 rated fatty acids, 7 rate higher and none lower. The figure is drawn from 1 cited source, listed on this page.
Is Caprylic Acid pore-clogging?
It is unlikely to be. At 1/5, Caprylic Acid sits in the range generally treated as non-comedogenic. Concentration still matters: an ingredient near the top of a label makes up far more of the product than one near the end. Comedogenic ratings come mostly from rabbit-ear assays and small human patch tests of the pure ingredient at high concentration, so they are a screening guide, not a prediction for your skin or a medical claim.