Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.
EWG Home EWG’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning EWG’s Food Scores Healthy Living App Open menu

EWG's Skin Deep®
Find products and ingredients Learn how Skin Deep® works Meet our experts Discover EWG VERIFIED®
GET UPDATES DONATE
Score legend
HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED®

Data: Fair

Bht

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

SEARCH PRODUCTS

Other Concerns

Endocrine disruption (low), Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate), and Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (moderate)

SYNONYMS

● 2,6-BIS(1,1-DIMETHYLETHYL)-4-METHYL- PHENOL
● 2,6-BIS(1,1-DIMETHYLETHYL)-4-METHYLPHENOL
● 2,6-BIS(1,1-DIMETHYLETHYL)-4-METHYLPHENOL; 2,6-DI-TERT-BUTYL-4-METHYLPHENOL; PHENOL, 2,6-BIS(1,1-DIMETHYLETHYL)-4-METHYL-
● 2,6-DI-T-BUTYL-P-CRESOL
● 2,6-DI-TERT-BUTYL-P-CRESOL
● BHT
● BUTYLATED HYDROXYTOLUENE
● DBPC
● DIBUTYLHYDROXYTOLUENE
● PHENOL, 2,6-BIS(1,1-DIMETHYLETHYL)-4-METHYL-
● PHENOL, 2,6BIS(1,1DIMETHYLETHYL)4METHYL

Unacceptable

Unacceptable: EWG VERIFIED products cannot contain this ingredient

Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) is a toluene-based ingredient used as a preservative in food and personal care products.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

  • MODERATE
    Cancer
  • HIGH
    Allergies & Immunotoxicity
  • LOW
    Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity
  • LOW
    Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

  • CONCERNS
  • DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

Expand content Collapse content
lipstick347 products
foundation298 products
lip gloss180 products
eye shadow161 products
moisturizer137 products
antiperspirant/deodorant137 products
facial moisturizer/treatment129 products
eye liner122 products
concealer117 products
lip balm106 products
body wash/cleanser99 products
mascara83 products
fragrance for women81 products
hair treatment/serum80 products
daily use with SPF79 products
shampoo73 products
conditioner70 products
lip liner70 products
brow liner58 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)58 products
serums & essences58 products
recreational sunscreen55 products
hair styling aide55 products
blush53 products
mask47 products
liquid hand soap46 products
around-eye cream42 products
fragrance for men39 products
bronzer/highlighter32 products
lip balm with SPF32 products
hair color and bleaching31 products
hand cream30 products
facial cleanser29 products
hair spray29 products
lip plumper29 products
makeup primer27 products
exfoliant/scrub25 products
setting powder/spray23 products
nail glue23 products
anti-aging20 products
shaving cream18 products
toothpaste18 products
hair-loss treatment18 products
sunless tanning16 products
shaving cream (men's)15 products
styling gel/lotion14 products
body spray13 products
BB cream13 products
bar soap11 products
body oil11 products
facial powder10 products
10 products
after shave9 products
bath oil/salts/soak9 products
body firming lotion6 products
makeup remover6 products
polish remover6 products
beard care6 products
nail treatment5 products
detangler5 products
styling mousse/foam5 products
skin fading/lightener4 products
cuticle treatment4 products
toners/astringents4 products
bubble bath4 products
beard oil4 products
baby lotion2 products
nail polish2 products
baby shampoo2 products
beard cleanser2 products
foot odor control1 products
foot moisturizer1 products
tooth whitening1 products
diaper cream1 products
hand sanitizer1 products
glitter1 products
facial cleansing wipes1 products

Allergies/immunotoxicity

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Known human any toxicant or allergenOpen scientific literature
Human any toxicant or allergen - strong evidenceOpen scientific literature
One or more human case studies show significant any or allergenic effectsNational Library of Medicine HazMap

Cancer

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Limited evidence of carcinogenicityOpen scientific literature
One or more in vitro tests on mammalian cells show positive mutation resultsOpen scientific literature
One or more animal studies show tumor formation at high dosesOpen scientific literature
Not likely to be carcinogenic in humansOpen scientific literature

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Classified as expected to be toxic or harmfulEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Classified as medium human health priorityOpen scientific literature

Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Human respiratory irritant - moderate evidenceOpen scientific literature

Endocrine disruption

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
One or more studies show weak endocrine disruptionOpen scientific literature

Developmental/reproductive toxicity

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
One or more animal studies show developemental effects at high dosesOpen scientific literature

Data gaps

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Risk assessment method deficiencies and data gaps - Maximum reported "as used" concentration is basis of safety assessment by industry safety panel (Cosmetic Ingredient Review, CIR) - implicit safe concentration limit in productCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
5406 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed

Informational

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - anyCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Multiple, additive exposure sources

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in foodFDA Food Additive Status
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in foodFDA Everything Added to Food

Persistence and bioaccumulation

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be persistentOpen scientific literature
Not suspected to be bioaccumulativeOpen scientific literature

Ecotoxicology

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be an environmental toxinOpen scientific literature
  • Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
  • NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2006. HazMap — Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Agents.
  • EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
  • CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review). 2006. CIR Compendium, containing abstracts, discussions, and conclusions of CIR cosmetic ingredient safety assessments. Washington DC.
  • NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2012. PubMed online scientific bibliography data. http://www.pubmed.gov.
  • FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) 2006. Food Additive Status List. Downloaded from http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/%7Edms/opa-appa.html, Oct 16, 2006.
  • FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration). 2008. EAFUS [Everything Added to Food]: A Food Additive Database. FDA Office of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

Understanding scores

Cosmetics and personal care products are not required to be tested for safety before being allowed on the market. The Skin Deep® scoring system was designed to help the public understand whether a product is safe to use or whether it contains ingredients of concern.

Every product and ingredient in Skin Deep gets a two-part score – one for hazard and one for data availability. The safest products score well by both measures, with a low hazard rating and a fair or better data availability rating.

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES

Hazard score

The Skin Deep ingredient hazard score, from 1 to 10, reflects known and suspected hazards linked to the ingredients. The EWG VERIFIED® mark means a product meets EWG’s strictest criteria for transparency and health.

Score legend
WEIGHT-OF-EVIDENCE APPROACH

A product’s hazard score is not an average of the ingredients’ hazard scores. It is calculated using a weight-of-evidence approach that factors in all of the hazards or health impacts associated with the ingredients.

Data availability

The Skin Deep data availability rating reflects the number of scientific studies about the product or ingredient in the published scientific literature.

NONE LIMITED FAIR GOOD ROBUST
Low Availability
Moderate Availability
High Availability
NONE

Ingredients have not been assessed.

LIMITED-FAIR

There is only a modest volume of research.

GOOD-ROBUST

Ingredients have been studied extensively.

Can’t find your product?

Enter the ingredients in EWG’s Build Your Own Report tool to get an approximate score for that product.

BUILD YOUR OWN REPORT

News & updates

Big Market for Black Cosmetics, but Less-Hazardous Choices Limited
RESEARCH
Big Market for Black Cosmetics, but Less-Hazardous Choices Limited
K-Beauty Trends: Serums, Essences and EWG’s Best Bets
RESEARCH
K-Beauty Trends: Serums, Essences and EWG’s Best Bets
FDA Asks Women To Protect Themselves From Products The Agency Refused To Ban
NEWS RELEASE
FDA Asks Women To Protect Themselves From Products The Agency Refused To Ban
Study Highlights Importance of Cosmetics Ingredient Safety Tests
NEWS RELEASE
Study Highlights Importance of Cosmetics Ingredient Safety Tests
READ ALL ARTICLES
Skindeep Healthy Living App

Discover a curated selection of healthier beauty and personal care products. Donate today to get your EWG VERIFIED® holiday gift set!

GET IT NOW