Lauric Acid

Lauric Acid is a saturated fatty acid naturally found in coconut oil, palm kernel oil, and even breast milk.

In cosmetics, it is an:

• Emollient that helps hydrate and soften skin
• Cleansing surfactant that grabs onto dirt, oil, and other impurities on your skin to be easily rinsed away by water
• Emulsifier that prevents the oil and water parts from separating to keep a formula stable

Lab studies have found that lauric acid is surprisingly good at killing acne-causing bacteria. However, these tests were done on bacteria in a petri dish and not on real skin, so we can't say for certain it works the same in a formulation on a real face.

The comedogenic rating of 4 comes from the 1972 rabbit ear model using undiluted ingredients. Comedogenicity is highly individual and one comedogenic ingredient cannot predict how a formula will behave on skin.

This ingredient is not fungal acne safe and research has confirmed Malassezia can use it as a food source. Even though "fungal acne" has the word "acne" in it, they are completely different. Regular acne is driven by a bacteria called Cutibacterium acnes, clogged pores, and excess oil. Fungal acne isn't really acne; it's caused by an overgrowth of a yeast called Malassezia that already lives on everyone's skin. Because one is bacterial and the other is fungal, they respond to different ingredients.