Chemical filter

Octinoxate

Common UVB filter. Lab studies show endocrine activity, but TGA and SCCS still call 10% safe, including for children. Some reef jurisdictions ban it.

Octinoxate is an efficient UVB cinnamate (peak about 311 nm). It is less photostable than modern triazines. Australia and the EU allow 10% (US 7.5%).

TGA’s July 2025 review classed current Australian use as low risk, with a margin of safety above 100. SCCS’s final opinion of June 2025 (SCCS/1671/24) is the important nuance: the committee said EHMC is endocrine-active (oestrogenic and weakly anti-androgenic in experimental systems) and still considered 10% safe in sunscreen, face, hand and lip products, including sprays, and also safe for children because the margin of safety is high.

That is the difference between a biological hazard at some dose and a risk at sunscreen doses. Hawaii and some other reef jurisdictions restrict it for environmental reasons. Those bans are not a human-toxicity finding.

A decent UVB filter if the rest of the formula is good. Not a reason to discard a product, and not a first choice if a modern triazine is available.

Sources

Sunscreens with Octinoxate

Are we sloppy? Tell Gus.