PRESERVATIVE
Butylparaben
- preservative
A paraben preservative, now uncommon in new formulas.
- products in our library
- 23
- of researched products
- 0.3%
- on the label, in our shampoos
- usually #41
- most common in
- Shampoo
- in water
- Oil-soluble
At a glance
Four things worth knowing about how this ingredient behaves on hair.
How much of it is left on hair between washes.
What it takes to get it off the hair again.
What it is in the formula to protect.
Where it sits on the labels we have, in the category it appears in most.
| Property | Level | Out of |
|---|---|---|
| Buildup risk | Needs a cleanser | 4 of 5 |
| Rinse-out behaviour | Rinses with a cleanser | 2 of 5 |
| Role | Keeps water-based formulas | 4 of 5 |
| Prominence | Secondary | 2 of 5 |
What it does for a formula
What Butylparaben does
The general function first, then how the role changes by product type where we have researched it.
A paraben: effective at low levels. Some people avoid it, and you can filter it out here.
It takes a surfactant to remove, which matters on a low-detergent routine.
Charge
Charge is not recorded for this ingredient.
Solubility
Needs a surfactant to remove. On a low-detergent routine it can build up over time.
Where it appears
Where it appears
One row per product category in our library: how many products list it, what share of that category that is, and where it typically sits on the label.
| Product type | How common | Typical position on label ? |
|---|---|---|
Shampoo
6 products
|
secondary · #41 | |
Leave-in
4 products
|
secondary · #50 | |
Scalp treatment
4 products
|
secondary · #43 | |
Conditioner
2 products
|
secondary · #33 | |
Styler: paste
2 products
|
secondary · #14 | |
Styler: texture spray
2 products
|
secondary · #37 | |
Co-wash
1 product
|
secondary · #38 | |
Finisher: shine spray
1 product
|
secondary · #11 | |
Styler: hairspray
1 product
|
secondary · #26 |
| Product type | Products | Share of category | Median position | Earliest position | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shampoo | 6 | 0% | 41 | 16 | secondary |
| Leave-in | 4 | 1% | 50 | 12 | secondary |
| Scalp treatment | 4 | 1% | 43 | 41 | secondary |
| Conditioner | 2 | 0% | 33 | 22 | secondary |
| Styler: paste | 2 | 1% | 14 | 12 | secondary |
| Styler: texture spray | 2 | 2% | 37 | 35 | secondary |
| Co-wash | 1 | 1% | 38 | 38 | secondary |
| Finisher: shine spray | 1 | 1% | 11 | 11 | secondary |
| Styler: hairspray | 1 | 0% | 26 | 26 | secondary |
We have not researched differences by product type yet. The reading below comes from where it sits on the labels in our library.
Position footprint
Every listing in our library, by position on the label.
| Positions | Zone | Listings |
|---|---|---|
| 1-3 | Leading | 0 |
| 4-8 | Supporting | 0 |
| 9-15 | Secondary | 4 |
| 16-25 | Lower | 2 |
| 26+ | Trace | 17 |
How to read this
US labelling rules put ingredients above 1% in descending order of amount; below 1% they may be listed in any order.
So position tells you about relative amount only above that line, and we never convert a position into a percentage.
Why it matters to shoppers
What seeing this ingredient tells you, what it does not, and the limits of our own method.
- a preservative with a long track record
- a product that keeps over its shelf life
- something that lasts through the day
- an exact safety score (we do not publish one for any ingredient)
- how a finished product performs, which depends on the whole formula, not one line of it
- the exact percentage in a bottle, because label position never converts into a number
- a secondary paraben, listed below the main ingredients in our shampoos
- it was on the printed ingredient list of every product we counted (we read labels, not marketing copy)
- that the product would be better without one
- that a product is right or wrong for you
We do not publish safety scores or hazard grades. Where a regulator has published a restriction or a use condition, we state it and cite it; otherwise we describe what the ingredient does and stop.
Why some people avoid it
A preservative. It stops mould and bacteria growing in a water-based product, which is what stops an opened bottle spoiling in a warm bathroom.
Parabens are weakly oestrogenic in laboratory assays, and a widely-cited 2004 study reported finding them in breast-tumour tissue. That study had no control group and did not show they caused anything, but it is where the avoidance started.
Where regulators stand: The US FDA states it has no information showing parabens as used in cosmetics have an effect on human health. The EU restricts the specific concentrations of five parabens and has banned five rarely-used ones. Methyl- and propylparaben remain permitted in both.
Laboratory findings, no human exposure evidence
Commonly paired with
The ingredients that most often appear alongside this one in our library. We leave out the near-universal ones, because they pair with everything and tell you nothing.
- Methylparaben · 23
- Ethylparaben · 22
- Propylparaben · 22
- Propylene Glycol · 20
- Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Leaf Extract · 13
- Tetrasodium EDTA · 12
- Lecithin · 10
- Tocopheryl Acetate · 10
- Vaccinium Myrtillus Leaf Extract · 9
- Cystine Bis-PG-Propyl Silanetriol · 9
The number beside a name is how many products in our library list both.
These ingredients tend to appear together to keep the formula stable, carry the formula and let it dry, and clean and build foam.
Found in these products
The most prominent placements first. The badge is the position on that product’s own ingredient list.
Rusk · Finisher
Deepshine PlatinumX Shine Spray
#11 on the label · $4.20/oz
Hask · Leave-in
Placenta Leave Instant Conditioning Treatment
#12 on the label · $1.75/oz
Kenra Professional · Styler
Clear Paste 20
#12 on the label · $9.00/oz
Redken · Styler
Texturizing Clay Firm Grasp
#15 on the label · $5.59/oz
Redken · Shampoo
DANDRUFF CONTROL SHAMPOO
#16 on the label · $3.65/oz
Mizani · Conditioner
Butter Blend PerpHecting Creme Normalizing Conditioner
#22 on the label · $1.12/oz
d:fi · Styler
D:struct Medium Hold Molding Cream with Low Shine
#26 on the label · $4.15/oz
Sebastian · Styler
Texturizer
#35 on the label · $4.69/oz
Miss Jessie's · Co-wash
Co-Wash for Natural Hair - Natural Hair Cleanser
#38 on the label · $1.75/oz
Sebastian · Styler
Texture Maker Spray
#38 on the label · $3.55/oz
Nioxin · Shampoo
Pro Clinical System 3 Scalp + Hair Shampoo
#39 on the label · $2.40/oz
Nioxin · Shampoo
Pro Clinical System 1 Scalp + Hair Shampoo
#41 on the label · $2.06/oz
Identity
What this entry is, and what our references call it.
No public-domain structure depiction is available for this entry.
Butylparaben
- paraben
- butylparaben
For your hair?
Whether Butylparaben matters for your hair depends on your hair.
23 products in our library list itWhat this ingredient does, and where it sits on the labels we have researched.
A verdict on any product that contains it, and never a safety grade.
We do not physically test your hair. Everything above comes from the ingredient lists in our library and from published references. The consultation is what turns it into a plan.
References
Seed entry, sourcing in progress Written from our reference work; primary sourcing is still being attached.
No published source is attached to this entry yet.
How this page was made
- Every number above is counted from the ingredient lists in our own product library: 23 of 6816 researched products list this ingredient. Nothing on this page is written per ingredient.
- The dots are levels, not scores. Each one comes from what kind of ingredient it is (its chemical class, charge and solubility) or from where it sits on the labels we have.
- US labelling rules put ingredients above 1% in descending order of amount; below 1% they may be listed in any order. Position tells you about relative amount only above that line, and we never convert a position into a percentage.
- The prominence bands (leading, supporting, secondary) are the same ones the product pages use to read a single label, applied here to the median position across a category.
- We do not publish safety scores or hazard grades. Where a regulator has published a restriction or a use condition, we state it and cite it; otherwise we describe what the ingredient does and stop.
- Identifiers and references appear only when a published source is attached to this entry. Without one, we leave the row out rather than fill it in.
- This is cosmetic information, not medical advice, and nothing here diagnoses or treats a health condition.
- Entry last updated 2026-09-22. Product-page methodology: the product library.
