1,4-Butanediol

1,4-butanediol appears as odorless colorless liquid or solid (depending upon temperature). (USCG, 1999)

Butane-1,4-diol is a butanediol that is butane in which one hydrogen of each of the methyl groups is substituted by a hydroxy group. A colourless, water-miscible, viscous liquid at room temperature (m.p. 16℃) with a high boiling point (230℃), it is mainly used for the production of other organic chemicals, particularly the solvent oxolane (also known as tetrahydrofuran or THF). It has a role as a neurotoxin, a protic solvent and a prodrug. It is a butanediol and a glycol.

The Panel also concluded that the available data are insufficient to make a determination that 1,4-Butanediol... is safe under the intended conditions of use in cosmetic formulations.