Homosalate in sunscreen: the EU limit explained

What the EU safety committee said in 2021

In an opinion adopted in June 2021, the EU's Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) concluded that homosalate is not safe as a UV filter in cosmetics at concentrations up to 10%, considering concerns about possible endocrine, or hormone-disrupting, properties. It said use is safe for the consumer up to 0.5% in the final product.¹

The same opinion is careful about the evidence. The SCCS regarded the available evidence for endocrine-disrupting properties as inconclusive, and at best equivocal, across computer modelling, laboratory tests and animal studies, while noting indications from some studies that homosalate may have endocrine effects. It also noted that exposure from other products, and combined exposure to salicylic acid formed from homosalate and other salicylates, had not been considered.¹

Why the limit for face products is 7.34%

In December 2021 the SCCS gave further advice after industry submitted new data. Considering the same endocrine concerns, it concluded that homosalate is safe as a UV filter at concentrations up to 7.34% in face cream and pump spray.² Its advice applies to those face products only.

Snifff's summary above gives how that became the EU rule, and how India differs. In the Cosmetics Regulation, Annex VI, entry 12 allows homosalate at up to 7.34% in face products, with propellant spray products excluded.³ The Indian position is Snifff's summary. One of its authors works for a cosmetics company.³

What this means in practice

Two things are true together. The committee found a level it considers safe for face creams and pump sprays,² and it described the hormone evidence as unresolved.¹ That is why the limit is lower than the older 10%, and why this page leans on what the committee said, not on a claim about harm.

Absorption and mixtures

A 2026 study used confocal Raman spectroscopy to measure how deeply UV filters enter the outer skin. Homosalate permeated the most among the filters tested, with a relative permeability of 4.2% and a maximum depth of 60 micrometres. Thickeners and emulsifiers in the formula reduced its permeation, so the rest of the formula matters.⁴

A 2026 analysis of 924 sunscreens on the Australian therapeutic goods register found homosalate in 410 of them, and that every product with organic filters combined two or more. The author notes that safety assessments look at one filter at a time and do not add up exposure across the filters in one product.⁵ That gap applies to every filter, not just homosalate.

Using homosalate with other products

The SCCS did not consider exposure from other products containing homosalate.¹ That means a face sunscreen plus a body sunscreen are outside what its numbers cover. We did not find a source on combining homosalate with other products beyond that.

Homosalate in pregnancy and breastfeeding

Snifff's note above flags an endocrine-related concern. The EU safety committee describes the endocrine evidence as inconclusive, and at best equivocal.¹ Both are accurate descriptions of an unresolved question, and neither is a pregnancy-specific finding.

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 Homosalate. In Snifff, it reads as Moderate risk. For the rest of the formula, see what the score means and how to read the list.

As Snifff shows it

Homosalate

Moderate risk

Pregnancy and nursing

Use with caution during pregnancy and lactation: homosalate has an endocrine-related concern.

Regulatory gap

The EU permits homosalate only in face products at up to 7.34% and excludes propellant sprays. India permits up to 10% across sunscreen formats.

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