Ingredient Index

Is Octinoxate banned in Europe?

Legal in both

No: octinoxate is legal in both markets, and the EU actually allows a higher maximum (10%) than the FDA's 7.5%; EU scientists are re-reviewing it for endocrine effects, and Hawaii bans it for reef reasons.

CAS: 5466-77-3 Also seen as: Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Octyl Methoxycinnamate, OMC

What the EU does

Authorized as a UV filter under Annex VI of the Cosmetics Regulation at up to 10%, a higher ceiling than the United States allows, which inverts the usual pattern this site documents. The honest answer to "is it banned in Europe" is therefore an unambiguous no.

The caveat worth knowing: ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate is on the SCCS docket for re-evaluation over suspected endocrine activity, and the historical pattern (see oxybenzone and homosalate in 2022) is that such reviews end in tighter percentage caps. Status today: fully legal at 10%.

Citation Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, Annex VI/12 (max 10%)

What the US does

Legal at up to 7.5% under the FDA's OTC sunscreen monograph. Like the other legacy chemical filters, it was moved to the "additional data needed" column in the FDA's 2019 proposed order: pending, not punitive.

Hawaii's 2021 sunscreen law bans octinoxate alongside oxybenzone on coral-toxicity grounds, and several brands now formulate around it for the US market anyway.

Citation FDA OTC sunscreen monograph (octinoxate up to 7.5%); Hawaii Act 104 (2018)

Products that commonly contain it

A UVB filter with a long résumé:

Chemical sunscreens, especially daily-wear SPF
Moisturizers and foundations with SPF
Lip balms with SPF
Hair products with UV protection claims

What to look for on a label

Several names, one molecule:

"Octinoxate" in US Active Ingredients boxes
"Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate" or "octyl methoxycinnamate" on INCI lists
Banned from sale in Hawaii and some territories, relevant for travel shopping

Or skip the squinting: paste the whole ingredient list into our checker and it flags everything in our database. Nothing you paste leaves your browser.

Frequently asked questions

Is octinoxate banned in Europe?

No. It is authorized at up to 10% under Annex VI of the Cosmetics Regulation, a higher cap than the US 7.5%. An SCCS re-evaluation for endocrine activity is in progress.

Is octinoxate banned in the United States?

Federally no: it is permitted at up to 7.5%. Hawaii and some territories ban its sale for coral-reef protection.

Is octinoxate safe?

Both regulators currently permit it. It shows weak estrogenic activity in lab studies, which is why the EU is re-reviewing; no human harm at sunscreen exposures has been established. The risk of skipping sunscreen is better documented than any risk of this filter.

Why do European sunscreens have a better reputation?

Not because of octinoxate, but because the EU has long used a newer generation of UV filters that the FDA only began approving in 2026, when bemotrizinol (Tinosorb S) became the first new filter cleared since 1999 after decades stuck in the agency's backlog.

Related ingredients

Primary sources

Last reviewed June 10, 2026 · How we assign statuses