Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-Tbutyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate

TL;DR. This ingredient is a synthetic antioxidant used to slow rancidity, color change, and odor shift in oils, waxes, fragrances, and other oxidation-prone formula components.

What does Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-Tbutyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate do in a cosmetic formula?

This ingredient is a synthetic antioxidant used to slow rancidity, color change, and odor shift in oils, waxes, fragrances, and other oxidation-prone formula components.

Is Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-Tbutyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate clean?

From a clean-beauty perspective, it is generally used at very low levels and is not known as a common skin sensitizer, but it has friction because it is a synthetic hindered phenolic antioxidant. Some stricter clean frameworks prefer simpler plant-derived antioxidants when they can deliver comparable formula stability.

Is Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-Tbutyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate sustainable?

This material is typically petrochemical-derived and highly lipophilic, with limited water solubility and limited ready-biodegradability data. Its environmental profile is less aligned with renewable, readily biodegradable ingredient design than plant-derived antioxidant systems.

Is Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-Tbutyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate COSMOS-approved?

It is not aligned with COSMOS organic or COSMOS natural standards because it is a synthetic antioxidant outside the usual permitted categories for natural cosmetic formulation. From a Green Chemistry lens, its strong stabilization performance is useful, but petrochemical sourcing and limited biodegradability keep it from a green signal.

How does Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-Tbutyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate work chemically?

The molecule is a high-molecular-weight, oil-soluble tetrafunctional ester bearing four sterically hindered phenolic antioxidant groups that donate hydrogen to interrupt lipid peroxidation chains. It is typically used at low stabilizing levels, often around 0.01% to 0.1%, and is favored in anhydrous or oil-rich systems where heat stability and low volatility matter.

Last updated 2026-05-13