This present investigation deals with the effect of antioxidants, viz. butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), on properties of nonionic surfactants, i.e. tert-octylphenol ethoxylate (Triton X-100). Considering the significance of micellar solution as carrier, we examined the transport properties by employing controlled approaches. The positive values of apparent molar volume (phi(nu)) and apparent molar adiabatic compression (phi(kappa)) at all temperatures and concentrations are indicative of the existence of hydrophobic interactions. A slight linear increase in viscosity was observed up to a certain concentration of the surfactant and thereafter, a sharp increase confirms the existence of hydrophobic interactions at higher surfactant concentration. Further, from spectroscopic studies, the order of shifting suggests the existence of intermolecular interaction, especially in the hydrophilic region of surfactant. All the studies were found in support of each other with respect to interaction, and would be utilized in different cosmeceutical formulations. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.