Is Petrolatum Comedogenic?
Petrolatum is rated 0/5 in published comedogenicity lists — rated low on published lists.
Single-source Source: compilation. Only the reproduced compilation lists carry this number; not verified against the original table. How we rate
Also appears on labels as
- petroleum jelly
- vaseline
What it is
Petrolatum — petroleum jelly, the material Vaseline is made of — is a semi-solid blend of large saturated hydrocarbons, highly refined for cosmetic use. It is the most effective occlusive in common use, meaning it slows water loss by sitting on the surface as a film.
Why it's rated 0/5
Occlusive and comedogenic are different properties, and petrolatum is the clearest proof: refined cosmetic-grade petrolatum tested non-comedogenic in the published lineage. Its molecules are too large and inert to participate in comedone formation — it seals over skin rather than working into follicles. The historical bad reputation traces to cruder industrial grades, not the cosmetic material on modern labels.
The practical caveat is about what it seals in: a film over existing residue is a whole-routine question, not a property of petrolatum itself.
On the label
Appears as Petrolatum (also sold as petroleum jelly; Vaseline is a brand of it). Ubiquitous in balms, ointments, and "slugging"-style occlusive steps.
When this rating can't be trusted
The 0/5 describes the raw ingredient in a rabbit-ear assay, usually at 10% in propylene glycol. It cannot tell you how much is in your product (position on the label is the only clue), what the rest of the formula does to it, or how your skin responds. Finished products containing highly rated ingredients have tested non-comedogenic on human skin (Draelos & DiNardo, JAAD 2006).
Can the 0/5 rating for Petrolatum be trusted?
Single-source This number comes only from reproduced compilation lists and has not been verified against the original table. Treat it as a screening signal from a copied list, not a measurement you can cite. Source: compilation.
A low number does not certify a product: a formula can still clog pores through its other ingredients or their combination. Full reasoning and bibliography.
Where the rating comes from
Ratings on this site come from published comedogenicity literature in the Fulton 1989 lineage — the 0–5 tables compiled from ingredient testing and reproduced across dermatology reference lists since. Where values disagree: a named primary source (Fulton 1989) outranks later unattributed lists, so its value is shown and the others are disclosed in the note; where only compilation lists disagree, the higher-caution value is shown. We never publish an invented number, and we never present one as more certain than its source: every rating carries a confidence tier — established (primary-source value, no disagreement on record), single-source (only the reproduced compilation lists carry it), or contested (published values disagree or depend on grade and vehicle; the note says which value is shown and why). Ingredients we cannot match appear as “not in our database” — unmatched, not cleared: no published list we hold rates them under that name, and that is not a pass.
Our flag threshold follows the American Academy of Dermatology's Invitational Symposium on Comedogenicity (J Am Acad Dermatol 1989): substances scoring 0–2 in the rabbit-ear assay are unlikely to clog pores in humans, while scores above 2 warrant more caution — which is why this site flags 3/5 and up. Read the full methodology and bibliography.
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