Butylene Glycol
Formula-support ingredient for moisture, conditioning, texture, slip, or stability. The role can be described, but the current source set does not justify a product-level performance or safety conclusion.
- Ingredient family
- Emollient / conditioning
- Research state
- Ingredient-specific sources
- Source labels checked
- July 21, 2026
- Found in
- 1 researched product
Read it through four separate lenses.
Formula job
Emollient / conditioningFormula-support ingredient for moisture, conditioning, texture, slip, or stability.
How we classify formula rolesBeard hair + skin
Supported roleSupports the way the formula applies, feels, or remains stable.
See the skin + hair evidenceEnvironmental evidence
Lower identified human hazardA relevant cosmetic safety assessment is available. Environmental endpoint and production-route data remain separate questions.
See the environmental limitsSensitivity + confidence
Assessed cosmetic useThe available panel assessment concluded that butylene glycol was safe as then used in cosmetics; the assessment is older and does not supply current product concentration.
Moderate confidenceA useful formula role is not proof of beard growth, treatment of a skin condition, lower environmental impact, or suitability for every person. Finished-product behavior depends on concentration, processing, the rest of the formula, use pattern, and individual response.
Compare conditioning oils and butters
Compare emollient roles, source strength, product occurrence, and the limits of ingredient-only evidence before choosing a formula.
Open the comparisonHuman + environmental evidence
What deserves attention—and why.
Hazard is not the same as real-world risk. Exposure, dose, formula, wastewater treatment, farming location, and supplier controls can change the conclusion.
A relevant cosmetic safety assessment is available. Environmental endpoint and production-route data remain separate questions.
The available panel assessment concluded that butylene glycol was safe as then used in cosmetics; the assessment is older and does not supply current product concentration.
No exact-grade aquatic endpoint and finished-product environmental concentration are assigned; lower human hazard does not prove lower aquatic impact.
No product-level phytotoxicity conclusion is assigned, and feedstock land impacts depend on the undisclosed production route.
The safety assessment does not replace biodegradation, bioaccumulation, wastewater-removal, and transformation data.
This material may be made from plant, fermentation, animal, or petrochemical inputs depending on grade; the label does not identify the route.
The current evidence supports the assessed cosmetic use, not a blanket “non-toxic,” biodegradable, or sustainable claim.
What to ask the supplier for.
Ask the supplier to identify feedstock and process. For palm-, palm-kernel-, coconut-, or soy-derived input, require no-conversion origin and chain of custody; for fermentation or petrochemical routes, compare energy, emissions, and measured fate rather than relying on “natural” or “renewable.”
Product occurrence ledger
Where we found it.
List position is a location clue only. It is not a concentration estimate, and formulas can change after our source check.
Human clinical results
What controlled tests add to this record.
An ingredient study is not a trial of every product containing that ingredient.
No qualifying clinical result is assigned.
The current record may still include regulatory, cosmetic-function, or safety-assessment evidence. Those sources are useful for their stated purpose but are not clinical proof of skin, hair, or finished-product performance.
What remains unknown.
Exact level is not disclosed on the product labels we recorded.
Grade, refining, solvents, and other processing details are usually absent.
Residuals and contaminants are not specified by an ordinary INCI list.
Synergy or antagonism with other ingredients is a finished-formula question.
Manufacturing, transport, packaging, dose, and disposal remain outside an ingredient-only profile.
Evidence ledger
Open the source behind the summary.
A source supports only the claim named beside it. Database inclusion is not a blanket approval, and an assessed ingredient does not rate every finished product.
- 01European Commission
CosIng cosmetic ingredient database
Standard ingredient names and cosmetic functions. Database inclusion is not, by itself, a safety approval.
Last checked July 13, 2026 - 02U.S. Food & Drug Administration
Cosmetic ingredients
The U.S. regulatory context: most cosmetic ingredients are not preapproved, and the marketer is responsible for product safety.
Last checked July 13, 2026 - 03Journal of the American College of Toxicology
Butylene glycol and related glycols safety assessment
The panel concluded that butylene glycol and the other reviewed glycols were safe as then used in cosmetics. This is an older assessment and does not identify the feedstock or product concentration.
Last checked July 14, 2026 - 04U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Safer Choice master criteria for safer chemical ingredients
The screening framework used here: human toxicity, aquatic toxicity, persistence, and bioaccumulation are separate endpoints and must be judged within a chemical's functional class.
Last checked July 14, 2026 - 05Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil
RSPO production and supply-chain standards
The standards define requirements for certified oil-palm production and chain-of-custody. Identity Preserved or Segregated supply offers stronger physical traceability than an undisclosed palm-derived feedstock.
Last checked July 14, 2026 - 06Nature Food
Oil-crop supply chains and global biodiversity loss
A spatial supply-chain analysis found that oil-palm, coconut, and soybean cultivation accounted for most modeled oil-crop biodiversity impacts, concentrated in tropical regions. It supports traceable, location-specific screening rather than blanket substitution.
Last checked July 14, 2026