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Data: Limited

Butylene Glycol

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (moderate)

SYNONYMS

1,3-BUTANEDIOL, 1,3-BUTYLENE GLYCOL, 1,3-DIHYDROXYBUTANE, 1,3BUTANEDIOL, 3-HYDROXY-1-BUTANOL, ACEROLA EXTRACT BG-25, BUTANE-1,3-DIOL, BUTYLENE GLYCOL, DIOSCOREA COMPOSITA EXTRACT BG, PHYTO COLLAGE BD-II, QUILLAJA EXTRACT BG, and ROSE APPLE LEAF EXTRACT BG-30

Butylene glycol (1.3-Butanediol) is a small organic alcohol used as solvent and conditioning agent.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

  • LOW
    Cancer
  • LOW
    Allergies & Immunotoxicity
  • LOW
    Developmental and Reingredientive Toxicity
  • LOW
    Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

  • CONCERNS
  • DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

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foundation1191 products
concealer713 products
mask669 products
facial moisturizer/treatment510 products
serums & essences315 products
daily use with SPF295 products
moisturizer285 products
mascara234 products
facial cleanser218 products
eye liner183 products
around-eye cream155 products
makeup primer155 products
conditioner150 products
brow liner143 products
CC cream133 products
toners/astringents126 products
hair treatment/serum121 products
shampoo120 products
lipstick103 products
exfoliant/scrub95 products
blush93 products
recreational sunscreen90 products
bronzer/highlighter85 products
BB cream76 products
eye shadow73 products
lip gloss66 products
setting powder/spray66 products
makeup remover59 products
hand cream57 products
hair styling aide55 products
hand sanitizer46 products
lip plumper45 products
45 products
body firming lotion43 products
nail polish42 products
styling gel/lotion41 products
anti-aging39 products
body wash/cleanser39 products
hair color and bleaching38 products
lip balm31 products
body spray27 products
sunless tanning24 products
hair spray22 products
lip liner19 products
after shave16 products
foot moisturizer15 products
pore strips15 products
skin fading/lightener14 products
eyelash glue14 products
facial powder13 products
shaving cream (men's)12 products
styling mousse/foam12 products
foot cleansing10 products
detangler10 products
nail treatment9 products
beard care9 products
eye makeup remover8 products
glitter8 products
liquid hand soap8 products
cuticle treatment7 products
oil controller7 products
baby sunscreen7 products
damaged skin treatment7 products
other eye makeup6 products
antiperspirant/deodorant5 products
fragrance for men5 products
baby shampoo4 products
fragrance for women4 products
after sun product4 products
baby wipes4 products
bar soap3 products
baby lotion3 products
depilatory3 products
shaving cream3 products
baby soap3 products
muscle/joint soreness3 products
tanning oil3 products
polish remover3 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)2 products
bath oil/salts/soak2 products
hair-loss treatment2 products
body oil2 products
bubble bath2 products
beard oil2 products
beard cleanser2 products
diaper cream1 products
mouthwash1 products
lip balm with SPF1 products
body powder1 products
body art1 products
foot odor control1 products

Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Human any irritant - strong evidenceCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Data gaps

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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
312 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed

Multiple, additive exposure sources

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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

Ecotoxicology

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be an environmental toxinEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmfulEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Persistence and bioaccumulation

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be persistentEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Not suspected to be bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Informational

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - anyCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
  • 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.
  • EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.

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.

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