Butyl Alcohol
- This ingredient’s score is higher if used in products that are inhalable (e.g., sprays, powders) because of respiratory concerns.
- Products with this ingredient are allowed for use in EWG VERIFIED but must meet use restrictions and warnings based on EWG review of company data.
- This ingredient’s score is higher if used in products intended for use around the eyes due to increased risk of absorption.
- Products with the EWG VERIFIED mark have met use restrictions and warnings based on EWG review of company data.
Other Concerns
Use restrictions (moderate), Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate), Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (moderate), and Occupational hazards (high)SYNONYMS
Restricted
Restricted: EWG VERIFIED products cannot contain this ingredient without adequate substantiation
n-Butyl Alcohol is an aliphatic alcohol.
Common concerns
See how this product scores for common concerns.
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LOWCancer
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LOWAllergies & Immunotoxicity
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LOWDevelopmental and Reproductive Toxicity
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MODERATEUse Restrictions
Ingredient concerns
- CONCERNS
- DATA SOURCES
Products with this Ingredient
nail polish | 273 products |
lip gloss | 29 products |
nail treatment | 8 products |
hair spray | 2 products |
setting powder/spray | 1 products |
lipstick | 1 products |
nail glue | 1 products |
eye shadow | 1 products |
Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Known human lung and skin toxicant | CPS&Q - Classification & Labelling |
Classified as expected to be toxic or harmful | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Limited evidence of sense organ toxicity | Scorecard.org Toxicity Information |
One or more animal studies show classified as toxic effects at moderate doses (low dose studies may be unavailable for this ingredient) | EPA Toxic Release Inventory PBTs |
Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Classified as lung and skin irritant | CPS&Q - Classification & Labelling |
Human any irritant - strong evidence | Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments |
Occupational hazards
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Allowed workplace exposures restricted to low doses | CPS&Q - Classification & Labelling |
Use restrictions
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Recommended restricted in cosmetics - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - Product type restrictions or differences noted in safety assessment by industry panel | Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments |
Data gaps
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 product | Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments |
Insufficient data to determine safety | EPA Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) |
8745 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical | NLM PubMed |
Miscellaneous
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Occupational hazards related to handling | CPS&Q - Classification & Labelling |
Informational
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - any | Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments |
Multiple, additive exposure sources
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in food | Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments |
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in food | FDA Everything Added to Food |
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in food | FDA Food Additive Status |
Neurotoxicity
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
nervous system - weight of evidence unknown/unassessed/unreview: published lit review or major tox study | National Library of Medicine HazMap |
Cancer
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Limited or incomplete evidence of cancer according to safety/hazard data – government assessment cannot classify as human carcinogen due to data gaps | EPA Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) |
- CPS&Q (Consumer Products Safety & Quality) formely known as ECB (European Chemicals Bureau). 2008. Classification and Labelling: Chemicals: Annex VI of Directive 67/548/EEC through the 31st ATP.
- EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
- ED (Environmental Defense). 2006. Scorecard _ The Pollution Information Site. http://www.scorecard.org.
- EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 1999. Toxics Release Inventory Program. PBT Chemical Rule.
- CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review). 2006. CIR Compendium, containing abstracts, discussions, and conclusions of CIR cosmetic ingredient safety assessments. Washington DC.
- EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 2008. Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). Evidence for human carcinogenicity based on 1986-2005 guidelines.
- NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2012. PubMed online scientific bibliography data. http://www.pubmed.gov.
- 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.
- 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.
- NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2006. HazMap — Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Agents.
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 SCORESHazard 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.
Data availability
The Skin Deep data availability rating reflects the number of scientific studies about the product or ingredient in the published scientific literature.