beauty
cleaning
food
industrial

tert-Butyl alcohol

CAS 25-65-0 · 20/100 · High conf.

Also registered as 1 other CAS number

75-65-0

Concern score

20/100Minor concern based on regulatory listings.

High confidence

tert-Butyl alcohol in plain language

What it is: On cosmetic ingredient lists it appears as “T-butyl alcohol”.
Also known as T-butyl alcohol · 2-Methylpropan-2-ol · tert-Butanol · Tertiary butanol · 1,1-Dimethylethanol · 2-Methyl-2-propanol
Show all 29 names
2-Methylpropan-2-ol(other name: tert-Butylalcohol) · 2-Propanol, 2-methyl- · 2-methylpropane-2-ol · 2-metilpropan-2-ol · Alcool butylique tertiaire · Arconol · Butyl alcohol, tert- · Butanol tertiaire · Methanol, trimethyl- · NCI-C55367 · Trimethyl carbinol · Tertiary-Butyl Alcohol · Trimethyl methanol · Trimethylcarbinol · Trimethylmethanol · t-Butanol · t-Butyl alchohol · t-Butyl hydroxide · tert-butyl alcohol (sara iii) (2-methyl-2-propanol) · tert-butyl alcohol (sara 313) · tert-butyl alcohol (sara iii) · tert-butyl alcohol (tert-butanol) (sara iii) · tert-butyl alcohol. lel: 2%. uel: 8%
What it does: Used in cosmetics as a solvent, a fragrance ingredient and a denaturant.
Solvent
Perfuming
Denaturant
Thickener
Fragrance
Flavouring
Is it a concern?: Minor concern: no hazard classifications on record. It is listed for cosmetic use in the EU.

Why it's flagged

EPA CPDat observed this chemical in 593 composition records across product categories including Home maintenance, Food and drug, Laboratory supplies.

The score describes this ingredient's chemical identity — its hazard profile from published classifications and regulatory status — not the safety of any product it appears in.

Regulation

No restrictions found. tert-Butyl alcohol appears in these published regulatory listings.

Inactive ingredient in US drugs

Recorded in these product areas

Found in consumer products
Beauty
Cleaning
Pharma
Food
Industrial

EUEFSAEFSA opinion4 entries
- Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Food Additives, Flavourings, Processing Aids and Materials in contact with Food (AFC) on a request from the Commission related to Flavouring Group Evaluation 18 (FGE.18): Aliphatic, alicyclic and aromatic saturated and unsaturated tertiary alcohols, aromatic tertiary alcohols and their esters from chemical Group 6 (Commission Regulation (EC) No 1565/2000 of 18 July 2000) (EFSA AFC)Source →
- Scientific Opinion on Flavouring Group Evaluation 18, Revision 3 (FGE.18Rev3): Aliphatic, alicyclic and aromatic saturated and unsaturated tertiary alcohols, aromatic tertiary alcohols and their esters from chemical groups 6 and 8 (EFSA CEF)Source →
- Scientific Opinion on Flavouring Group Evaluation 18, Revision 2 (FGE.18Rev2): Aliphatic, alicyclic and aromatic saturated and unsaturated tertiary alcohols, aromatic tertiary alcohols and their esters from chemical groups 6 and 8 (EFSA CEF)Source →
- Flavouring Group Evaluation 18, Revision 1 (FGE. 18 Rev1): Aliphatic, alicyclic and aromatic saturated and unsaturated tertiary alcohols, aromatic tertiary alcohols and their esters from chemical groups 6 and 8. Scientific Opinion of the Panel on Food Additives, Flavourings, Processing Aids and Materials in Contact with Food (AFC) (EFSA AFC)Source →
EUCosIngActiveListed in CosIng inventory for cosmetic use.
- Listed in CosIng inventory for cosmetic use.Source →
USEPAcommercial use observedEPA CPDat observed this chemical in 593 composition records across product categories including Home maintenance, Food and drug, Laboratory supplies. EPA CPDat classifies this chemical for functional uses including Flavouring and nutrient, Solvent, Fragrance.
- EPA CPDat observed this chemical in 593 composition records across product categories including Home maintenance, Food and drug, Laboratory supplies. EPA CPDat classifies this chemical for functional uses including Flavouring and nutrient, Solvent, Fragrance.Source →
USFDAinactive ingredient databaseRoute: TOPICAL; Dosage form: GEL; Potency: 0.12 %w/w
- Route: TOPICAL; Dosage form: GEL; Potency: 0.12 %w/wSource →
USFDAlisted in openFDA substanceopenFDA substance registry classifies this ingredient as chemical.
- openFDA substance registry classifies this ingredient as chemical.Source →

Expert safety opinions

Independent scientific assessments cited by the records we hold, with the year and link where the record gives one.

SCCS
EU Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety
No SCCS opinion on file.
CIR
Cosmetic Ingredient Review (US expert panel)
No CIR safety assessment on file.
EFSA
European Food Safety Authority
- Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Food Additives, Flavourings, Processing Aids and Materials in contact with Food (AFC) on a request from the Commission related to Flavouring Group Evaluation 18 (FGE.18): Aliphatic, alicyclic and aromatic saturated and unsaturated tertiary alcohols, aromatic tertiary alcohols and their esters from chemical Group 6 (Commission Regulation (EC) No 1565/2000 of 18 July 2000) (EFSA AFC)
  2006 · EU EFSA listing · Read the source →
- Scientific Opinion on Flavouring Group Evaluation 18, Revision 3 (FGE.18Rev3): Aliphatic, alicyclic and aromatic saturated and unsaturated tertiary alcohols, aromatic tertiary alcohols and their esters from chemical groups 6 and 8 (EFSA CEF)
  2015 · EU EFSA listing · Read the source →
- Scientific Opinion on Flavouring Group Evaluation 18, Revision 2 (FGE.18Rev2): Aliphatic, alicyclic and aromatic saturated and unsaturated tertiary alcohols, aromatic tertiary alcohols and their esters from chemical groups 6 and 8 (EFSA CEF)
  2011 · EU EFSA listing · Read the source →
- Flavouring Group Evaluation 18, Revision 1 (FGE. 18 Rev1): Aliphatic, alicyclic and aromatic saturated and unsaturated tertiary alcohols, aromatic tertiary alcohols and their esters from chemical groups 6 and 8. Scientific Opinion of the Panel on Food Additives, Flavourings, Processing Aids and Materials in Contact with Food (AFC) (EFSA AFC)
  2009 · EU EFSA listing · Read the source →

Evidence & sources

No graded research studies for tert-Butyl alcohol yet. This record is compiled from the published data sources below — registries and regulatory listings, not study findings.

8 data sources

Where this comes from

CosIng
regulatory · updated 2026-09-23
Open →
EFSA OpenFoodTox
regulatory · updated 2026-10-04
Open →
EPA Chemical and Products Database
exposure · updated november 6, 2019
Open →
EPA DSSTox Identifiers
chemistry · updated 2025-12-29
Open →
FDA Inactive Ingredient Database
regulatory · updated 2026-01-09
Open →
FDA GSRS UNII
registry · updated 2026-02-26
Open →
openFDA Substance
registry · updated 2026-05-24
Open →
PubChem Live Enrichment
chemistry · updated 2026-05-17
Open →

Suitability

Context-specific fit derived from published classifications and the current ingredient evidence profile.

Food use

Food-use source coverage is present in the current record.

Good fit

The ingredient appears in food-oriented source coverage or allowed-use references, which makes food use easier to support than a context with no domain signal at all.

Fragrance avoidance

Not a strong fit for fragrance avoidance because it carries Fragrance.

Avoid

The ingredient itself is a fragrance-linked signal, so it is better treated as an avoid case when fragrance exposure is the main concern.

Where it has been recorded

How often EPA CPDat has listed tert-Butyl alcohol in a product composition. These are source records, not Greenveil catalog products.

Source records

593

Named organisations

Home maintenanceFood and drugLaboratory suppliesCleaning products and household careElectronics/small appliancesCleaning and safety

Typical roles

SolventPerfumingDenaturantThickenerFragranceFlavouring

See products using tert-Butyl alcohol →

Catalog

Found in these products

Their ingredient lists include tert-Butyl alcohol; each product's own rating depends on its whole formula, so it is shown on the product page, not here.

See all 73 →Find products without it →