Ethyl Butyrate

TL;DR. This ingredient is used mainly as a fragrance and flavor component, adding a sweet, fruity note in scented personal care, lip care, and oral care products. It can also act as a minor solvent within a fragrance blend.

What does Ethyl Butyrate do in a cosmetic formula?

This ingredient is used mainly as a fragrance and flavor component, adding a sweet, fruity note in scented personal care, lip care, and oral care products. It can also act as a minor solvent within a fragrance blend.

Is Ethyl Butyrate clean?

From a clean-beauty perspective, this ingredient is generally not a headline restricted-list material, but it is still part of the fragrance category, where sensitivity varies by user. It is typically used at very low levels because of its strong odor profile.

Is Ethyl Butyrate sustainable?

This material can be made synthetically or from bio-based feedstocks, so sourcing depends on the supplier. It is expected to be readily biodegradable, but it is volatile and contributes to the general VOC load of fragranced products.

Is Ethyl Butyrate COSMOS-approved?

It may be compatible with COSMOS when it is natural-origin and used as part of a compliant fragrance or flavor system, while petrochemical or non-compliant synthetic routes would not fit COSMOS-organic expectations. Its Green Chemistry profile is stronger when made from renewable feedstocks by simple esterification and supported by biodegradability data.

How does Ethyl Butyrate work chemically?

The molecule is a small, low-molecular-weight aliphatic ester with high volatility and a pronounced fruity odor, so finished-product use is usually trace-level and often well below 0.1%. It is generally stable in neutral to mildly acidic formulas, but ester hydrolysis can increase under strongly acidic or alkaline conditions.

Last updated 2026-05-13