DHHB in sunscreen: a UVA filter and a 2026 impurity limit

What DHHB is

DHHB is the short name for the INCI ingredient diethylamino hydroxybenzoyl hexyl benzoate. The EU's Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) describes it as an authorised UV filter, listed as entry 28 of Annex VI to the Cosmetics Regulation, valued for strong UV absorption, especially of UVA, and for excellent photostability, and used in sunscreens, moisturisers and makeup.¹

Earlier EU committees assessed DHHB in 2003, 2006 and 2008. The last of those concluded it is safe as a UV filter up to 10% by weight.¹

The 2025 advice and the 2026 limit

In 2024, German authorities reported finding mono-n-hexyl phthalate, a breakdown product of plasticisers, in children's urine, and their assessment suggested sunscreens could be a source. One phthalate it can come from is di-n-hexyl phthalate (DnHexP), which is already prohibited in cosmetics but can be left over as a contaminant when DHHB is made.¹

Germany's risk institute concluded that harm was very unlikely, with a sufficient margin of safety for sunscreen containing up to 10% of a filter contaminated with up to 0.3% DnHexP. It also noted that removing DnHexP is technically possible but needs special manufacturing and purification, and varies by manufacturer.¹

The Commission asked the SCCS to set a safe level. In its 2025 advice, the SCCS calculated a maximum safe level of 0.026% (260 ppm) for DnHexP in DHHB, applying when DHHB is used up to 10% in cosmetics and DnHexP is an unavoidable impurity. It found DnHexP below the level of detection in several DHHB sunscreens made with a specific process, and recommended 1 ppm as the target.¹

In April 2026 the EU made a limit law. The regulation keeps the 10% maximum for DHHB and caps DnHexP in it at 10 ppm. The Commission and member states accepted 10 ppm rather than the 1 ppm target, citing the higher cost of making DHHB that pure. Sunscreens that do not comply cannot be placed on the EU market from 1 January 2027, or made available there at all from 1 July 2028.²

What this means for a sunscreen

The advice is about purity, not about DHHB itself: the committee noted that no new information was available on DHHB as a filter.¹ You cannot see impurity levels on a label, so the practical point is that the limit puts the responsibility on the maker.

A 2023 review points out that the US has few approved broad-spectrum filters, and that more would help ease reliance on the more controversial ones.³

A 2026 risk assessment

A 2026 risk assessment reviewed the toxicology and exposure data for DHHB. It found low acute toxicity, no evidence of genotoxicity and minimal skin irritation or sensitisation potential. Taking a no-effect level of 200 mg per kg a day from a rat reproductive and developmental study, and assuming 17 g of sunscreen a day at 10% DHHB with 0.15% skin absorption, it estimated a margin of safety of 4,705, well above the threshold of 100 usually applied in cosmetic risk assessments.⁴

Those are modelling assumptions, not measurements in people, and the assessment looks at DHHB on its own. Real sunscreens contain several filters.

Using DHHB with other products

In a lab study of sunscreen formulations, DHHB did not stop avobenzone, another UVA filter, from breaking down in light.⁵ We did not find a source on layering DHHB with other products.

DHHB in pregnancy and breastfeeding

Evidence on cosmetic products in pregnancy is limited overall, so ask your doctor or midwife about the specific product you use.⁶

What you will see on the label

The names to look for are Diethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzoate and DHHB. In Snifff, it reads as Low risk. For the rest of the formula, see what the score means and how to read the list.

As Snifff shows it

Diethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzoate

Low risk

Pregnancy and nursing

We found no pregnancy- or lactation-specific evidence for this ingredient.

Wording as it appears in the extension, which can change between releases.