Database/Antimicrobial/Isobutylparaben
100% petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Isobutylparaben natural?

No. Parabens are explicitly classified petrochemical (phenol derivatives) regardless of the alcohol used to esterify them.

INCI nameIsobutylparaben
CAS4247-02-3
FormulaC11H14O3 · 194.23 Da
FunctionAntimicrobial
FeedstockIsobutylparaben is manufactured by esterifying petrochemical 4-hydroxybenzoic acid…

How we scored it

4-hydroxybenzoate ester, a phenol derivative; petrochemical. 0/194 = 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

Isobutylparaben is manufactured by esterifying petrochemical 4-hydroxybenzoic acid with isobutanol. Both building blocks originate from petrochemical feedstocks; no natural route is used commercially.

In plain English

A synthetic preservative in the paraben family that fights microbial growth in a product. It is built from petrochemical phenol chemistry and has no natural source.

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Structure

2D structure of Isobutylparaben

2-methylpropyl 4-hydroxybenzoate

PubChem CID 20240 ↗

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. 2Isobutylparaben. PubChem CID 20240. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3ISOBUTYLPARABEN. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4ISOBUTYLPARABEN. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=ISOBUTYLPARABEN