Depending on how sensitive your skin is, ingredients in your healthy and beauty products may clog your pores and contribute to acne. When an ingredient has this type of an effect on your pores, it's considered highly comedogenic. Although a product may advertise itself as being non-comedogenic, it may still have ingredients that can aggravate your acne. It's important to understand what products you should avoid by looking at the ingredients label.

Cocoa Butter

Cocoa butter is commonly found in skin moisturizers, and it works as an occlusive emollient. According to the New Zealand Dermatological Society, occlusive emollients soften the skin while providing a layer of oil over the top to slow the escape of moisture. This layer of oil can block your pores.

Cetearyl Alcohol

Cetearyl alcohol is also found in moisturizing products and acts as an emulsifying wax. Cetearyl alcohol is made by combining a series of fatty alcohols, which when added to skin products creates a film. As the product is applied to the skin, the film protects moisture from escaping. This same film can also lead to clogged pores.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate

Sodium lauryl sulfate is commonly found in face cleansers and skin bleaching creams and works as both a detergent and as an emollient. Sodium lauryl sulfate not only causes problems by clogging pores, but it also is a common allergen.

Wheat Germ Oil

Wheat germ oil (triticum vulgare) is commonly found in body scrubs, polishes and hair conditioners as a source of vitamins D, A and E, as well as proteins and lecithin, which protects cells from oxidation. Wheat germ oil also can contribute to the clogging of pores as it mixes with the body's natural oil sebum.

Red Seaweed

Red seaweed, also known as astaxanthin, is commonly used in anti-aging skin products. A 2009 study published in the Journal of American Science, by researchers at Bharat University in Chennai, India, states that seaweed is gaining attention for its high content of antioxidants. Antioxidants can be used in skin care products to fight off free radicals. Free radicals consist of oxygen molecules with unstable electrons that steal electrons from other substances (such as collagen and elastin in your skin), causing the robbed substances to break down. Red seaweed is highly comedogenic for those with acne-prone pores.