Caredermis

Butylated Hydroxyanisole

Severity 6/10

antioxidant (preservative) · also known as bha (antioxidant)

Is Butylated Hydroxyanisole safe?

Butylated Hydroxyanisole carries moderate concerns worth knowing about (cancer concern).

In plain language

A preservative antioxidant classified as possibly carcinogenic and increasingly replaced by tocopherol; not to be confused with beta hydroxy acid (salicylic acid), which shares the 'BHA' abbreviation.

A Caredermis plain-language explanation to help you read the label — not a regulator statement. The sourced facts are the classifications and status shown on this page.

Documented concerns

Each concern below is drawn from official data — see the cited sources ↓

Cancer concern

6/10

IARC Group 2B (possibly carcinogenic); Prop 65 listed.

Official regulatory status

Pulled directly from official regulatory datasets and expert reviews — not our own judgement.

CIR: reviewed safeCalifornia Prop 65: cancerUS NTP: reasonably anticipated carcinogen

Guidance by skin profile

Caredermis editorial guidance based on the concerns above — checked against the official records on every build, but not itself a regulator statement.

  • Sensitive skinNo specific concern
  • Oily & acne-proneNo specific concern
  • Dry skinNo specific concern
  • PregnancyUse with caution
  • Babies & kidsUse with caution
  • Eczema-proneNo specific concern

Sources

Each authority below is shown only because our ingested copy of its data lists Butylated Hydroxyanisole — not because we asserted it. Follow a link to verify the classification or regulation directly.

CIR conclusion from the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Quick Reference Table — cir-safety.org (snapshot in data/sources/)(point-in-time snapshot; CIR's live record may have been updated since).

See our methodology for how these map to concern levels. Informational only — not medical advice.

Related ingredients

Ingredients with a similar role or shared type of concern — useful for comparing what's on your label.

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