A side-by-side read of what the evidence actually records for cocoa butter and coconut oil — historical comedogenicity ratings where they exist, industry avoid-list flags where they don't, each cited to source. This compares ingredients, not finished products: use it to frame a label, then verify the real thing in thecomedogenic checker.
Historical rabbit-ear screening result. Raw material, vehicle, concentration, formulation, and human response can differ.
Fulton 1989 (Table I, p. 325)EU CosIng (CosIng common ingredient-name glossary)Acne Clinic NYC list (highly/moderately comedogenic directory)Acne Specialists list (avoid list (A–X tabs))
Full cocoa butter evidence page →Flagged on 1 industry pore-clogging avoid-list (retrieved 2026-07-11). No numeric rating from primary screening studies — treat as a caution flag from esthetician practice, not a measured value.
Acne Specialists list (avoid list (A–X tabs))
Full coconut oil evidence page →The honest answer stays at the level of the evidence — the number, the list, and their limits.
Cocoa Butter has a historical rabbit-ear screening rating of 4/5 (Fulton 1989). Coconut Oil has no numeric screening rating in our reviewed records — it is flagged on 1 industry pore-clogging avoid-list. A measured number and an avoid-list entry are different kinds of evidence, so they can't be ranked against each other on the same 0–5 scale.
Comedogenicity is an ingredient-level historical signal, not a product grade. The rabbit-ear model that produced these numbers is deliberately sensitive; the 2025 JAAD Reviews summary notes that concentration, purity, vehicle, the complete formulation, and individual response can all change what happens on human skin. Treat a match as a prompt to look closer, never as a finished-product verdict.
Cocoa Butter. Consider product type, where it is applied, and your own repeated response before acting on the match. A clinician can help distinguish cosmetic acne from other causes when symptoms continue.
Coconut Oil. For breakout-prone facial skin, treat straight coconut oil and coconut-heavy leave-on products with caution; body and hair-ends use is generally better tolerated. Paste the full product label into the checker rather than judging by this one name — and patch-test anything that survives.
For a routine you can trust, dermatology has the last word: the American Academy of Dermatology'sacne skin-care tips pair well with a screened shortlist — one new product at a time, a week of patch-testing, and your own skin settles what no list can.
From the brand's own product page, not a retailer summary.
A top-five flag outweighs the same name near the preservatives.
A week on the jawline is the real test, whatever the score says.
Reviewed summaries for both ingredients, drawn straight from their evidence pages.
Cocoa Butter. Cocoa butter was rated 4 in Fulton’s 1989 rabbit-ear table, a strong result under the raw-material screening conditions used in that study.
Coconut Oil. Coconut oil (Cocos Nucifera Oil) is one of the most-searched pore-clogging questions, and the honest answer is layered: it appears on both esthetician avoid-lists in this dataset, while a numeric screening rating from the primary literature is not part of our reviewed records.
Direct answers, held to what the dataset can and cannot say.
Cocoa Butter has a historical rabbit-ear screening rating of 4/5 (Fulton 1989). Coconut Oil has no numeric screening rating in our reviewed records — it is flagged on 1 industry pore-clogging avoid-list. A measured number and an avoid-list entry are different kinds of evidence, so they can't be ranked against each other on the same 0–5 scale.
Ingredient-level history is only a starting point. Consider product type, where it is applied, and your own repeated response before acting on the match. A clinician can help distinguish cosmetic acne from other causes when symptoms continue. For breakout-prone facial skin, treat straight coconut oil and coconut-heavy leave-on products with caution; body and hair-ends use is generally better tolerated. Paste the full product label into the checker rather than judging by this one name — and patch-test anything that survives.
No. Every rating here describes an isolated raw material in a historical rabbit-ear screen, usually at 10% concentration. Concentration, the complete formula, leave-on versus rinse-off, and your own skin all change the outcome — so paste the full label into the checker and patch-test the survivor rather than judging a product by one name.