Database/Humectant/Butyloctanol
100% petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Butyloctanol natural?

No. 2-Butyloctanol is made by dimerising hexanol, which comes from petrochemical ethylene or oxo chemistry; plant-derived hexanol is too scarce to be a commercial route.

INCI nameButyloctanol
CAS3913-02-8
FormulaC12H26O · 186.33 Da
FunctionHumectant · Solvent
FeedstockDominant supply is believed to be Guerbet dimerisation…

How we scored it

2-Butyloctanol C12H26O 186.3 Da: Guerbet dimer of hexanol made from ethylene (Ziegler) or by oxo synthesis; 0 / 186.3 = 0.00. Branched C12 alcohols are scored petrochemical, as for Butyloctyl Salicylate.
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

Dominant supply is believed to be Guerbet dimerisation of petrochemical hexanol. A plant-derived grade from oleochemical hexanol is possible but uncommon.

In plain English

A branched, liquid fatty alcohol used as a solvent and light emollient in skin and hair products. It dissolves oils and other ingredients and leaves little residue. Its carbon chain comes from petrochemical hexanol.

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Structure

2D structure of Butyloctanol

2-butyloctan-1-ol

PubChem CID 19800 ↗

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. 2Butyloctanol. PubChem CID 19800. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3BUTYLOCTANOL. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4BUTYLOCTANOL. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=BUTYLOCTANOL