Database/Skin Conditioning/Butyl Glycolate
100% petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Butyl Glycolate natural?

No. Both butanol and the dominant commercial glycolic-acid route are petrochemical; a minor natural sugar-derived route is not dominant.

INCI nameButyl Glycolate
CAS7397-62-8
FormulaC6H12O3 · 132.16 Da
FunctionSkin Conditioning
FeedstockMade by esterifying synthetic butanol with glycolic acid,…

How we scored it

Butanol (synthetic, petrochemical) esterified with glycolic acid (dominant route: formaldehyde/chloroacetic-acid synthesis, petrochemical) -> 0/132.16 = 0.0
What counts. ISO 16128-2 scores the atoms that remain in the final ingredient. Reagents, solvents, catalysts and protecting groups used during manufacture leave no mass behind and are not counted.

Where it comes from

Made by esterifying synthetic butanol with glycolic acid, which is predominantly manufactured from formaldehyde or chloroacetic acid. A specialty sugarcane-fermentation glycolic acid exists but is not the dominant cosmetic-grade source.

In plain English

An ester of butyl alcohol and glycolic acid, both typically from petrochemical sources. Used as a skin-conditioning ingredient and solvent in some cosmetic and coating formulas.

CosIng definition: Butyl Glycolate is the ester of butyl alcohol and glycolic acid.

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Structure

2D structure of Butyl Glycolate

butyl 2-hydroxyacetate

PubChem CID 81882 ↗

References

  1. 1ISO 16128-1:2016 and ISO 16128-2:2017 — Guidelines on technical definitions and criteria for natural and organic cosmetic ingredients and products. ISO, Geneva.
  2. 2Butyl Glycolate. PubChem CID 81882. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3BUTYL GLYCOLATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4BUTYL GLYCOLATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=BUTYL%20GLYCOLATE