The term Comedogenic as it pertains to carrier oils and essential oils is a determination of whether or not certain oils with a rating of 0-5 will cause your skin to breakout because of clogged pores. My skin is pretty resilient and I use Coconut Oil and Shea Butter in most of my skincare recipes. Essential oils on their own are non-comedogenic, but in most cases you will be using them with some sort of carrier oil. The types of commonly used carrier oils have comedogenic ratings from 0-5 based upon how likely they are to clog pores and cause breakouts.
Here is a breakdown of the ratings:
Comedogenic rating of 0 means that the oil is a non-comedogenic and will not clog your pores.
Comedogenic rating of 1 has a slight chance of clogging your pores.
Comedogenic rating of 2 means that most people will not have clogged pores, but some people will experience clogged pores depending on their skin type.
Comedogenic rating of 3 will cause a lot of people to experience clogged pores or breakouts even though others won't experience any problems depending on their skin type.
Comedogenic rating of 4 suggests that most people will experience clogged pores or breakouts unless they have a good tolerance to oils depending on their skin type.
Comedogenic rating of 5 basically guarantees clogged poors and breakouts because very few people can tolerate oils with this rating.
Here is a list of the most commonly used carrier oils and their comedogenic ratings:
Argan Oil - 0
Beeswax - 2
Castor Oil - 1
Cocoa Butter - 4
Coconut Oil - 4
Fractionated Coconut Oil - 0
Grapeseed Oil - 1
Jojoba Oil - 2
Olive Oil - 2
Rosehip Oil - 1
Shea Butter - 0-2
Sweet Almond Oil - 2
This is a great resource containing additional oils and their comedogenic ratings.
If you end up with clogged pores and breakouts you can always use a deep pore cleansing mask on occasion and/or sugar scrubs or salt scrubs. The sugar and salt scrubs that I use contain a small amount of coconut oil, which helps prevent the sugar and salt from irritating my skin. The coconut oil can be replaced with Argan Oil or Fractionated Coconut Oil too. I alternate using them throughout the week.