Database/Emollient/Butyl Oleate
Mostly natural · ISO 16128

Is Butyl Oleate natural?

Mostly. Oleic acid is a natural vegetable-oil fatty acid; n-butanol is explicitly a petrochemical synthetic alcohol.

INCI nameButyl Oleate
CAS142-77-8
FormulaC22H42O2 · 338.6 Da
FunctionEmollient · Fragrance
FeedstockOleic acid is split from vegetable oils such…

How we scored it

Oleoyl C18H33O 265.5Da (natural) + butoxy C4H9O 73.1Da (petrochemical) = 338.6 → 265.5/338.6=0.78
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

Oleic acid is split from vegetable oils such as olive, sunflower or rapeseed. n-Butanol is produced petrochemically via the oxo (hydroformylation) process from propylene.

In plain English

An emollient ester that softens skin, made from oleic acid, a common vegetable-oil fatty acid, and butanol, a synthetic alcohol made from petroleum.

Natural alternatives with the same function

Structure

2D structure of Butyl Oleate

butyl (Z)-octadec-9-enoate

PubChem CID 5354342 ↗

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 Oleate. PubChem CID 5354342. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3BUTYL OLEATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4BUTYL OLEATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=BUTYL%20OLEATE