Cetyl Acetate

Cetyl Acetate is an emollient and is created by reacting cetyl alcohol with acetic acid.

It is a waxy and water-repellent, giving formulas a smooth slip. Once applied on the skin, your skin enzymes naturally break it down into cetyl alcohol and acetic acid, both of which are well-studied and considered safe.

This ingredient has a comedogenic rating of 4 and irritancy rating of 2 based on early studies.

Just know these numbers have some caveats; comedogenic rating studies used ingredients at high concentations in pure form and not how they behave in a finished product (where they're used in lower percentages and balanced by other ingredients).

Comedogenic ratings also don't account for individual skin or how a product is actually used.