The food and drug administration has added bemotrizinol to its list of permitted active ingredients in over-the-counter sunscreens, giving U.S. products a new filter after more than 20 years without an addition. The change brings the number of approved active sunscreen ingredients in the United States to 17.
The ingredient has been used in sunscreens made in Asia and Europe for decades. AJ Addae, a chemist and doctoral candidate at the University of California, Los Angeles, called the expanded set of options "a pretty big deal" and said, "It’s definitely something that we haven’t had in a very long time."
2005 Filing, Seven-Month Delay
The application for bemotrizinol was filed in 2005, and the FDA’s official action came seven months after the agency initially proposed it. Lauren J. Young reported the addition, which ends a long stretch in which the agency’s sunscreen list did not gain a new entry.
That timing leaves the United States with fewer permitted filters than Europe, where more than 30 approved sunscreen filters are available. The Environmental Working Group said the delay caused U.S. sunscreens to fall behind in better coverage against harmful ultraviolet rays.
Sunscreen Filters In The U.S.
There are two main classes of sunscreen filters: inorganic and organic. Chemical filters such as avobenzone, octocrylene and homosalate appear clear when rubbed on the skin, while physical filters like titanium and zinc can leave a white cast.
Saranya Wyles, a dermatologist at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, said, "the only thing that is really tested is a sunscreen’s ability to absorb UV light—specifically UVB light." The U.S. testing focus matters because UVA rays can penetrate deeper than UVB rays, and UVA is also relevant for skin health.
Bemotrizinol In The U.S.
Bemotrizinol adds one more option for over-the-counter sunscreens in a market that has lagged behind Europe’s broader list for years. Addae said the expansion is "a pretty big deal," and Wyles’s description of testing shows why ingredient choices shape what Americans can buy and how those products are evaluated.
For consumers, the immediate change is not a new label detail to decode but a larger menu of permitted active ingredients. The practical effect now depends on how quickly manufacturers use bemotrizinol in products sold in the United States.
