Database/Hair Conditioning/Butyloctyl Salicylate
100% petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Butyloctyl Salicylate natural?

No. Both the salicylic acid (from petrochemical phenol) and the branched C12 alcohol (Guerbet dimer of petrochemical hexanol) are synthetic, so nothing in the molecule is natural origin.

INCI nameButyloctyl Salicylate
CAS190085-41-7
FormulaC19H30O3 · 306.4 Da
FunctionHair Conditioning · Skin Conditioning
FeedstockPetrochemical phenol carboxylated to salicylic acid and esterified…

How we scored it

Salicylic acid C7H6O3 138 Da (petrochemical phenol) + 2-butyloctanol C12H26O 186 Da, a Guerbet dimer of petrochemical hexanol (C6 alcohols are not oleochemical) − H2O → 0 / 306 = 0.00.
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

Petrochemical phenol carboxylated to salicylic acid and esterified with 2-butyloctanol made by Guerbet condensation of hexanol.

In plain English

A skin-conditioning ingredient and solvent that also boosts sunscreen performance. It joins a branched fatty alcohol (assumed plant-derived) to salicylic acid, a petrochemical phenol derivative.

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Structure

2D structure of Butyloctyl Salicylate

2-butyloctyl 2-hydroxybenzoate

PubChem CID 18319150 ↗

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. 2Butyloctyl Salicylate. PubChem CID 18319150. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3BUTYLOCTYL SALICYLATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4BUTYLOCTYL SALICYLATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=BUTYLOCTYL%20SALICYLATE