Ingredient Index

Is Oxybenzone banned in Europe?

Restricted in EU

No, restricted, not banned: since 2022 the EU caps oxybenzone at 2.2% in body products and 6% in face products, while the FDA still allows 6% in any sunscreen; the actual bans are state and territorial reef laws like Hawaii's.

CAS: 131-57-7 Also seen as: Benzophenone-3, BP-3

What the EU does

Restricted, recently and meaningfully. Following an SCCS endocrine-disruption review, Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/1176 cut benzophenone-3 limits: a maximum of 6% in face, hand, and lip products, but only 2.2% in body products (the large-surface-area exposure), with additional limits around 0.5% when it is used merely to protect the formula itself. A warning ("contains benzophenone-3") has long been required.

The SCCS's reasoning was margin-of-safety arithmetic, not proof of harm: oxybenzone absorbs through skin readily, shows weak hormonal activity in laboratory assays, and at old body-lotion exposure levels the safety margin was too thin for comfort.

Citation Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, Annex VI/4; Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/1176

What the US does

Legal at up to 6% in sunscreens under the FDA's OTC monograph framework. In 2019 the FDA proposed reclassifying oxybenzone (and most chemical filters) as needing more safety data before being confirmed "generally recognized as safe and effective" (a request for evidence, not a finding of harm), and that proceeding remains unfinished. FDA studies did confirm it absorbs into blood above the agency's testing-trigger threshold.

The genuine US bans are subnational and about coral, not people: Hawaii (effective 2021), Key West, and several territories prohibit the sale of oxybenzone sunscreens on reef-toxicity grounds. Market pressure has done the rest: most new US launches are oxybenzone-free.

Citation FDA OTC sunscreen monograph (oxybenzone up to 6%); Hawaii Act 104 (2018)

Products that commonly contain it

Oxybenzone was the workhorse UVA/UVB filter of the 2000s. It appears in:

Older chemical sunscreens, especially high-SPF sprays
Daily moisturizers with SPF (legacy formulas)
Lip balms with SPF
Some foundations and BB creams

What to look for on a label

US sunscreen labels list active ingredients clearly:

"Oxybenzone" in the Active Ingredients box on US products
"Benzophenone-3" on EU-style INCI lists, with the mandatory warning
"Reef safe" is unregulated marketing; check the actives yourself
Mineral filters (zinc oxide, titanium dioxide) are the FDA's two unquestioned-safe categories

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Frequently asked questions

Is oxybenzone banned in Europe?

No. Since 2022 the EU restricts it to 2.2% in body products and 6% in face products (Regulation 2022/1176), with a mandatory label warning. That is a restriction, not a ban.

Is oxybenzone banned anywhere in the US?

Federally no: the FDA allows up to 6%. Hawaii, Key West, and some territories ban its sale on coral-reef grounds, and many brands have dropped it voluntarily.

Is oxybenzone an endocrine disruptor?

It shows weak hormonal activity in lab assays and absorbs through skin readily, which is why the EU tightened limits to preserve safety margins. No regulator has concluded that sunscreen use causes hormonal harm in humans.

Why did Hawaii ban it?

Laboratory studies linked oxybenzone and octinoxate to coral bleaching and larval damage. The marine-toxicity evidence, not human safety, drove those laws.

Related ingredients

Primary sources

Last reviewed June 10, 2026 · How we assign statuses