Why is butylene glycol in just about every product?

Formulating

Why is butylene glycol in just about every product?

Posted by GeorgeBenson on January 16, 2023 at 9:07 am

I’ve tried experimenting with it before and just didn’t find anything magical about it. Maybe I have the wrong kind, or was using it wrong, because I must be missing something - it seems 95% of products I look at have it listed in their ingredients.

So what’s the big deal, why so much love for this particular ingredient?

GeorgeBenson replied 1 year, 11 months ago 6 Members · 9 Replies
9 Replies

jemolian

Member
January 16, 2023 at 9:56 am

It works as a humectant and may be a preservative booster in extracts. They are using it probably due to cost and availability.
chemicalmatt

Member
January 17, 2023 at 1:45 pm

@GeorgeBenson, it would take an entire seminar here to explain the utility of butylene glycol in cosmetic formulation. A short answer: aside from freeze-point depression, anything propylene glycol can do, butylene glycol does better the only drawback is it costs 3X more than PG. Also, humectant and preservative booster are the two least important characteristics of BG; in fact it does not perform either very well at all.
fareloz

Member
January 17, 2023 at 4:53 pm

chemicalmatt said:

@GeorgeBenson, it would take an entire seminar here to explain the utility of butylene glycol in cosmetic formulation. A short answer: aside from freeze-point depression, anything propylene glycol can do, butylene glycol does better the only drawback is it costs 3X more than PG. Also, humectant and preservative booster are the two least important characteristics of BG; in fact it does not perform either very well at all.

So where it performs very well then? As a solvent?
jemolian

Member
January 18, 2023 at 1:06 am

@chemicalmatt good to know. Is there anywhere in particular where i can read more about BG ?
ketchito

Member
January 19, 2023 at 3:55 am

chemicalmatt said:

@GeorgeBenson, it would take an entire seminar here to explain the utility of butylene glycol in cosmetic formulation. A short answer: aside from freeze-point depression, anything propylene glycol can do, butylene glycol does better the only drawback is it costs 3X more than PG. Also, humectant and preservative booster are the two least important characteristics of BG; in fact it does not perform either very well at all.

If I remember correctly, smaller alcohols work better at preservation (like methanol and ethanol), while for humectancy, longer (than BG) chain glycols work better (like pentylene and hexylene glycol).
Graillotion

Member
January 19, 2023 at 4:34 am

An old thread…worthy of a re-read.

Glycols for humectancy, texture enhancers, and hurdle microbe approach. — Cosmetic Science Talk (chemistscorner.com)

Chart of chain length of glycols…. — Cosmetic Science Talk (chemistscorner.com)
Graillotion

Member
January 19, 2023 at 4:51 am

A few nice charts in this thread, amongst the non-chemists, @GeorgeBenson .

Butylene glycol vs glycerin as humectant — Cosmetic Science Talk (chemistscorner.com)
ketchito

Member
January 19, 2023 at 12:57 pm

Thank you @Graillotion, that was very enlightening.
GeorgeBenson

Member
January 19, 2023 at 7:32 pm

@Graillotion ????