Blistex MedPlus Tiegel Versus Blistex Classic

In comedogenic testing, Beeswax scored a 0-2, which is on the low end. Whether or not a product clogs your pores really comes down to the formula as a whole (not any single ingredient on its own) and your skin.

Beeswax is not vegan since it is animal-derived. It cannot be removed with water, but can be taken off with an oil cleanser.

People with a known Propolis allergy also report to have reactions from beeswax.

Beeswax's wax esters are derived primarily from palmitic and oleic acid (C16 and C18:1). Both of these fall within the C11-C24 feeding window.

The Malassezia yeast can potentially cleave these esters and release usable fatty acids, so this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe. However, not everyone will react to this ingredient.

It doesn't do anything active and just sits on skin to soften it and slow water loss.

The CIR reviews of this ingredient reported concentration usage across a wide range (0.0001% - 70%) depending on the product type. You'll most likely see double digits (~1-5%) in emulsions and double digits in sticks + balms.

This ingredient may not be fungal acne safe; the Malassezia yeast feeds on chains longer than 12 carbons which is exactly what this ingredient is built from (C12, C14, C16, and C18).

It's worth being honest that the lab picture isn't one-directional: medium-chain triglycerides and medium-chain free fatty acids were actually toxic to Malassezia in vitro, suppressing M. furfur and M. sympodialis. However, there's no human skin data showing that protective effect holds in a real formula.

The risk of allergies is low; Hydrogenated Coconut Oil caused no irritation after a single patch application and no sign of sensitization on retest 14 days late. This is also a refined triglyceride with no coconut protein left, so it's not likely to trigger coconut food allergies. But if you have reacted to coconut in cosmetics before, it's best to avoid this ingredient.

This ingredient shows up on a lot of ""pore-clogging"" lists but there's no real evidence behind that. It doesn't even have a comedogenic rating from an actual study; the numbers you'll find online come from blogs citing other blogs.

Ratings for other ingredients mostly come from a 1980s rabbit ear test. This test doesn't translate well to human skin or to real products because the ingredient sits at a much lower percentage. Some people still find it breaks them out. So if that's you, definitely trust your skin.