Oxybenzone

Oxybenzone is a benzophenone filter covering UVB and UVA2 (peaks about 288 nm and 325 nm). Australia still allows 10%. The EU allows 6% on face, hands and lips (non-spray) and 2.2% on the body.

It is the most absorbed of the common filters in FDA maximum-use trials, and plasma levels can linger for weeks after heavy use. TGA’s July 2025 review found the margin of safety below 100 for daily full-body use at the current cap. Face-and-hands-only use passed at about 9.8–10%. TGA is proposing concentration and use restrictions; an interim decision is due for further consultation by the end of 2026. Current products remain legal.

SCCS describes the endocrine evidence as inconclusive or equivocal. Observational human studies on benzophenones report associations with hormones, puberty timing and some reproductive measures. Those studies are signals, not proof that labelled sunscreen use caused the outcomes, and mixed chemical exposures are a real confounder.

Hawaii, Palau and some other places ban it to protect coral. That is an environmental rule, not an Australian human-health ban.

No need to bin a tube you already own. Do not seek it out in a new body sunscreen.