PABA
One of the first widely used chemical UVB filters. TGA removed it from the Australian permitted list. FDA issued a final order in September 2026 removing it from the US monograph. High rates of allergy and photoallergy.
PABA was one of the first widely used organic sunscreen filters. It caused enough allergic and photoallergic reactions that formulators abandoned it decades ago.
TGA has already removed aminobenzoic acid from the Permissible Ingredients Determination. FDA issued final administrative order OTC000008-1 on 10 September 2026 finding PABA not GRASE and removing it from OTC Monograph M020, effective 11 September 2027. FDA said it was not aware of any US products still using it.
The EU dropped it as a UV filter in 2008 and later prohibited it in cosmetics. Keep the page so old literature and very old bottles can be identified. Do not use.
Sources
Sunscreens with PABA
No sunscreens we list use this filter yet.