Ceteareth-20
Ceteareth-20 is rated 2 to 4 on our list, a range whose top puts it in the high band, and the number is traced: Fulton 1989 graded it 2 and Fulton 1989 graded it 4.
Like every rating here, it is for the raw ingredient tested alone, and a label does not print how much of it a product holds.
Is ceteareth-20 comedogenic?
Ceteareth-20 is rated 2–4 on the comedogenic scale: our list gives it a range from 2 to 4, and the band follows the 4 at the top.
A synthetic emulsifier that helps water and oil mix. Fulton 1989 graded it 2 on its own and 4 when mixed with cetearyl alcohol.
- Comedogenic rating
- 2–4 out of 5 (a range on our list)
- Band
- High: Clear plugging in the rabbit-ear test. The first band to check in a leave-on product.
- Where the number comes from
- Traced to Fulton 1989. The section on who rated it prints each grade.
- Composition
- Emulsifier / Surfactant / Alcohols & Derivatives
- Also written as
- No common variants recorded
What a 2–4 means in practice
A 4 or 5 is the top of the scale. In the rabbit-ear test, Fulton 1989 counted 4 to 5 as a clear positive: the ingredient plugged the follicles, and did so repeatably. A person's skin reacts less readily than a rabbit's ear, and a product holds far less of the ingredient than the test did, so treat this band as the first thing to check in anything that stays on your skin. It does not prove the ingredient will cause a breakout. A rinse-off product is on the skin for seconds.
Two things change what this number is worth. Ingredients are listed in descending order of concentration, so ceteareth-20 near the top of a label matters far more than ceteareth-20 at the bottom. And the rating describes the raw ingredient on its own. A 2006 review in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology found that a rating for a single ingredient does not reliably predict how a finished formula behaves on human skin. The full story of the scale is here.
Who rated it
Our list gives ceteareth-20 2–4. These are the figures the published rabbit-ear studies we have read give it, as printed in each paper's table.
| Paper | Grade | Tested as |
|---|---|---|
| Fulton 1989 | Grade 2 | Tested as Ceteareth-20 |
| Fulton 1989 | Grade 4 | Tested as Cetearyl alcohol + ceteareth 20 |
Our list's figure is within what these papers report.
Similar names, rated separately
These share a source with ceteareth-20 or carry it in their name, and each has its own rating on our list. The 2–4 on this page does not carry over to them, so check the exact name on the label.
Common questions
- Is ceteareth-20 comedogenic?
- Ceteareth-20 is rated 2–4 on the comedogenic scale: our list gives it a range from 2 to 4, and the band follows the 4 at the top.
- Is ceteareth-20 non comedogenic?
- No. Ceteareth-20 is rated 2–4 on the comedogenic scale, which is the high band. That is a published rating for the ingredient rather than a verdict on any product containing it.
- What is ceteareth-20's comedogenic rating?
- 2–4 out of 5 on our list. It is classed as Emulsifier / Surfactant / Alcohols & Derivatives.
Sources we checked this rating against
- Kligman AM, Kwong T. “An improved rabbit ear model for assessing comedogenic substances.” British Journal of Dermatology, June 1979;100(6):699–702. (opens in a new tab) The rabbit-ear assay behind published 0 to 5 comedogenicity grades.
- Fulton JE Jr. “Comedogenicity and irritancy of commonly used ingredients in skin care products.” Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists, November/December 1989;40(6):321–333. (opens in a new tab) Rabbit ear. Each ingredient at 10 percent in propylene glycol unless stated, applied five days a week for two weeks, and graded 0 to 5 from the width of the follicles, measured by micrometer and under the microscope. The paper counts 0 to 1 as not significant, 2 to 3 as borderline and 4 to 5 as positive. Some grades depended on the supplier of the raw material, and some oils were also tested refined.
- Draelos ZD, DiNardo JC. “A re-evaluation of the comedogenicity concept.” Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, March 2006;54(3):507–512. doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2005.11.1058 (opens in a new tab) Tested finished products on the backs of six people and concluded that “Finished products using comedogenic ingredients are not necessarily comedogenic.”