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 Castor Oil 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 Castor Oil near the end of a label is present in tiny amounts and matters far less than the same ingredient near the top.
About Castor Oil
It is a plant- or seed-derived oil, valued for the emollient, conditioning feel it gives a formula. A thick, glossy oil used in cleansing balms and lip products, rated around 1. Its sulfated form (Turkey Red Oil) rates higher.
On a label it can read as Castor Oil, Ricinus Communis Seed Oil — worth knowing when you scan an ingredient deck.
Castor Oil in makeup and skincare
In makeup it turns up in cream blushes, tinted balms, and hydrating foundations; in skincare, in face oils and cleansing balms. Its irritancy is rated separately at 0/5, which is low.
If you deal with fungal acne (malassezia folliculitis) rather than ordinary clogged pores, note that Castor Oil is among the fatty-acid or ester-type ingredients that community sources commonly avoid — a separate concern from its comedogenic score, and one with weaker evidence behind it.
Castor Oil comedogenic FAQ
Is Castor Oil comedogenic?
Not usually. Castor Oil 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 Castor Oil?
Castor Oil has a comedogenic rating of 1/5 (low risk). Of the 190 ingredients in our dataset with a published rating, 132 rate higher than Castor Oil, 28 rate lower, and 29 others share its 1/5. Among the 38 rated oils, 31 rate higher and 4 lower. The figure is drawn from 1 cited source, listed on this page.
Is Castor Oil pore-clogging?
It is unlikely to be. At 1/5, Castor Oil 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.