Octocrylene in sunscreen: allergy, benzophenone and limits

What octocrylene is

Octocrylene is an absorber of UVB and shorter-wavelength UVA light, introduced about 15 years before a 2014 review and now widely used in sunscreens and skincare.¹

Allergy: who is affected

The 2014 review describes two different patterns. Photocontact allergy to octocrylene, a reaction that needs sunlight, has been reported more often since 2003, mostly in adults who had previously used topical products containing the painkiller ketoprofen. How ketoprofen sensitisation leads to octocrylene allergy is unknown. Plain contact allergy to octocrylene is far less common and was mostly seen in children, from sunscreens.¹

So the group at risk is narrow. If you have had a rash after using a ketoprofen gel, or your child has reacted to a sunscreen, it is a reasonable ingredient to suspect, and a dermatologist can test for it.

The benzophenone problem

Octocrylene can be made using benzophenone, which a 2021 lab study calls a possible human carcinogen. That study analysed the octocrylene raw material and 39 skincare products, 28 of which contained octocrylene. Benzophenone was found in the raw material and in all 28 octocrylene products, mostly above 10 ppm, while most of the octocrylene-free products had none. The authors suggest residual benzophenone may explain the photoallergy seen in ketoprofen-sensitised people.²

A second study found the problem grows with age. Sixteen octocrylene-containing sunscreens averaged 39 mg/kg of benzophenone, ranging from 6 to 186 mg/kg, and the amount rose when the products were stored under accelerated-ageing conditions, which points to octocrylene itself breaking down.³

This is the reason Snifff's pregnancy note says octocrylene can contain or break down into benzophenone. It is also why a sunscreen's storage and age matter more than they seem to.

Absorption, and what the EU decided

In a 2019 trial of four sunscreens in 24 volunteers, peak octocrylene blood levels were roughly 3 to 8 ng/mL, above the 0.5 ng/mL level at which the FDA wants more safety data.⁴

In 2021 the EU's safety committee concluded that octocrylene is safe as a UV filter at up to 10% in cosmetic products when used individually. For combined use, it is safe at up to 10% in sunscreen cream, pump spray, face cream, hand cream and lipstick, but not at 10% or more in a propellant spray. A propellant spray is safe at up to 9% when used with face cream, hand cream and lipstick containing 10%.⁵

Snifff's summary above matches that, and adds that India permits up to 10% without a separate spray limit. The legal text is Annex VI, entry 10 of the Cosmetics Regulation: up to 10%, or 9% in propellant spray products.⁶ The India half is Snifff's.

Octocrylene in pregnancy and breastfeeding

Snifff's caution has two parts. Octocrylene can contain or break down into benzophenone, and pregnancy data are limited. The first part is covered above: benzophenone was found in every octocrylene product tested in one study.²

We did not find pregnancy-specific studies of octocrylene. The caution rests on that impurity question and on the lack of data, and the page makes no stronger claim.

Evidence on cosmetic products in pregnancy is limited overall, so ask your doctor or midwife about the specific product you use.⁷

What you will see on the label

The names to look for are Octocrylene. 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

Octocrylene

Moderate risk

Pregnancy and nursing

Use with caution during pregnancy and lactation: octocrylene can contain or break down into benzophenone, and pregnancy data are limited.

Regulatory gap

The EU caps octocrylene at 10% in most sunscreen formats and 9% in propellant body sprays. India permits up to 10% without a separate spray limit.

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