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HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED®

Data: Fair

Butylparaben

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

SEARCH PRODUCTS

Other Concerns

Use restrictions (moderate), Endocrine disruption (high), and Biochemical or cellular level changes (moderate)

SYNONYMS

● 4-HYDROXY- BUTYL ESTER BENZOIC ACID
● 4-HYDROXYBENZOIC ACID, BUTYL ESTER, SODIUM SALT
● BENZOIC ACID, 4-HYDROXY-, BUTYL ESTER
● BENZOIC ACID, 4-HYDROXY-, BUTYL ESTER, SODIUM SALT
● BENZOIC ACID, 4HYDROXY, BUTYL ESTER
● BUTYL 4-HYDROXYBENZOATE
● BUTYL ESTER BENZOIC ACID, 4-HYDROXY-
● BUTYL ESTER SODIUM SALT 4-HYDROXYBENZOIC ACID
● BUTYL ESTER SODIUM SALT BENZOIC ACID, 4-HYDROXY-
● BUTYL P-HYDROXY BENZOATE
● BUTYL P-HYDROXYBENZOATE
● BUTYL PARAHYDROXYBENZOATE
● BUTYLPARABEN
● BUTYLPARABEN, POTASSIUM SALT
● BUTYLPARABEN, SODIUM SALT
● P-HYDROXYBENZOIC ACID, BUTYL ESTER
● PARAHYDROXYBENZOATE ESTER
● POTASSIUM BUTYLPARABEN
● POTASSIUM SALT BUTYLPARABEN
● SODIUM BUTYL 4-HYDROXYBENZOATE
● SODIUM BUTYLPARABEN
● SODIUM SALT 4-HYDROXYBENZOIC ACID, BUTYL ESTER
● SODIUM SALT BENZOIC ACID, 4-HYDROXY-, BUTYL ESTER
● SODIUM SALT BUTYLPARABEN

Unacceptable

Unacceptable: EWG VERIFIED products cannot contain this ingredient

Butylparaben is in the paraben family of preservatives used by the food, pharmaceutical, and personal care product industries. Parabens mimic estrogen and can act as potential hormone (endocrine) system disruptors.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

  • LOW
    Cancer
  • MODERATE
    Allergies & Immunotoxicity
  • MODERATE
    Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity
  • MODERATE
    Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

  • CONCERNS
  • DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

Expand content Collapse content
concealer54 products
foundation53 products
eye liner36 products
eye shadow23 products
mascara23 products
lipstick23 products
moisturizer14 products
bronzer/highlighter10 products
hair styling aide8 products
facial cleanser6 products
conditioner6 products
blush6 products
styling gel/lotion5 products
setting powder/spray5 products
hair treatment/serum5 products
facial powder4 products
facial moisturizer/treatment4 products
after shave4 products
sunless tanning3 products
hair-loss treatment3 products
lip balm2 products
hair color and bleaching2 products
around-eye cream2 products
brow liner2 products
lip gloss2 products
foot moisturizer2 products
anti-aging1 products
baby lotion1 products
styling mousse/foam1 products
daily use with SPF1 products
body wash/cleanser1 products
toners/astringents1 products
hand sanitizer1 products
body powder1 products
recreational sunscreen1 products
lip balm with SPF1 products
1 products
polish remover1 products
damaged skin treatment1 products
facial cleansing wipes1 products

Endocrine disruption

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Known human any disruptorOpen scientific literature
Human endocrine disruptor - strong evidenceEuropean Commission on Endocrine Disruption
One or more studies show significant wildlife and the environment disruptionEuropean Commission on Endocrine Disruption
Limited evidence of endocrine disruptionOpen scientific literature
One or more studies show weak endocrine disruptionEWG Assessment of Open Scientific Literature
One or more studies show weak endocrine disruptionOpen scientific literature

Developmental/reproductive toxicity

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Possible human reproductive or developmental toxinOpen scientific literature
One or more animal studies show any effects at very low dosesOpen scientific literature
One or more animal studies show any effects at low dosesOpen scientific literature

Allergies/immunotoxicity

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Human skin toxicant or allergen - strong evidenceEWG Assessment of Open Scientific Literature
One or more human case studies show possible immune or allergenic effectsOpen scientific literature

Use restrictions

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Restricted in cosmetics (recommendations or requirements) - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - anyOpen scientific literature
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - anyOpen scientific literature
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - anyCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Biochemical or cellular level changes

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Interferes with gene expresionOpen scientific literature

Data gaps

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Safety assessment was based on related chemicalCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
Risk assessment method deficiencies and data gaps - Maximum reported "as used" concentration is basis of safety assessment by industry safety panel (Cosmetic Ingredient Review, CIR) - implicit safe concentration limit in productCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
308 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed

Persistence and bioaccumulation

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Not suspected to be persistentEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmfulEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Informational

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - anyCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Multiple, additive exposure sources

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in foodFDA Everything Added to Food

Ecotoxicology

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be an environmental toxinEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
  • Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
  • EU (European Union)- Strategy for Endocrine Disrupters 2007. Commision on endocrin disruption requested by the European Parliament in 1998.
  • EWG Assessment of Open Scientific Literature
  • CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review). 2006. CIR Compendium, containing abstracts, discussions, and conclusions of CIR cosmetic ingredient safety assessments. Washington DC.
  • NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2012. PubMed online scientific bibliography data. http://www.pubmed.gov.
  • EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
  • FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration). 2008. EAFUS [Everything Added to Food]: A Food Additive Database. FDA Office of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

Understanding scores

Cosmetics and personal care products are not required to be tested for safety before being allowed on the market. The Skin Deep® scoring system was designed to help the public understand whether a product is safe to use or whether it contains ingredients of concern.

Every product and ingredient in Skin Deep gets a two-part score – one for hazard and one for data availability. The safest products score well by both measures, with a low hazard rating and a fair or better data availability rating.

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES

Hazard score

The Skin Deep ingredient hazard score, from 1 to 10, reflects known and suspected hazards linked to the ingredients. The EWG VERIFIED® mark means a product meets EWG’s strictest criteria for transparency and health.

Score legend
WEIGHT-OF-EVIDENCE APPROACH

A product’s hazard score is not an average of the ingredients’ hazard scores. It is calculated using a weight-of-evidence approach that factors in all of the hazards or health impacts associated with the ingredients.

Data availability

The Skin Deep data availability rating reflects the number of scientific studies about the product or ingredient in the published scientific literature.

NONE LIMITED FAIR GOOD ROBUST
Low Availability
Moderate Availability
High Availability
NONE

Ingredients have not been assessed.

LIMITED-FAIR

There is only a modest volume of research.

GOOD-ROBUST

Ingredients have been studied extensively.

Can’t find your product?

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