Is BHT (Butylated Hydroxytoluene) safe in skincare?

What it is

BHT is a synthetic antioxidant closely related to BHA, used at very low levels to keep the oils and fats in a product stable. It is common in lip products, moisturisers and makeup.

What the sources say

BHT is assessed as safe as used at the low concentrations found in cosmetics by review bodies such as the CIR. Unlike its cousin BHA, it does not carry an IARC carcinogen classification, though some people choose to avoid the whole 'butylated' antioxidant family as a personal preference.

Hazard vs. real-world risk

BHT is a good example of an ingredient that sounds synthetic-scary but has a reassuring sourced picture at cosmetic levels. The main reason to avoid it is preference, not a regulatory red flag.

Vegan & cruelty-free angle

Synthetic and typically vegan.

Open sources, no black box

Clarra doesn't embed any proprietary rating database or invent its own secret score. It draws on open, public regulatory sources and cites them, and uses Open Beauty Facts product data under the ODbL with attribution. If you want to check where a flag comes from, the source is right there — transparency is part of the point.

What Clarra reads on every product

• Ingredient flags — how named regulators (EU CosIng, IARC, Prop 65, CIR, ECHA) classify or restrict what's inside, with hazard kept separate from risk.
• Cruelty-free status — shown with positive framing: what a brand states or is certified for, never an accusation.
• Vegan status — flagging animal-derived ingredients like carmine, beeswax and lanolin, and honest about ambiguous-source ones.