What sunscreen ingredients should you avoid?

Oxybenzone is the one most people mean

If you are asking which ingredient to avoid, oxybenzone is the answer most often given. It is also listed as benzophenone-3 or BP-3. It is a broad-spectrum absorber and the ingredient most likely to cause contact or photo-contact dermatitis, a rash that can flare when skin reacts to sun exposure (StatPearls chapter on sunscreens).

Some researchers also raise carcinogenic and endocrine concerns. Those have not been proven, so treat them as open questions rather than settled findings.

What FDA actually said

FDA has not declared these ingredients unsafe. It has said the data are not enough to confirm they are safe and effective, which is a narrower and more useful point than the headlines usually make.

In its 2021 proposed administrative order, the agency said oxybenzone at up to 6% lacks sufficient data to support a positive safety finding. It also stated that new absorption data alone do not establish that these products are unsafe (FDA proposed order, 2021).

Why absorption is the real question

The central worry is not that these filters sit on your skin. It is that they get into your bloodstream. FDA cites evidence that oxybenzone absorbs through skin more than previously understood, and that it has been detected in breast milk, amniotic fluid, urine, and plasma. The agency also flags a lack of data on young children, who may absorb more.

A systematic review found that elevated systemic BP-3 did not show an adverse effect on fertility, childhood adiposity, or fetal and neonatal development. Its effects on thyroid and reproductive hormones, puberty, kidney function, and immunity still need study (systematic review of banned sunscreen ingredients). We found no randomized trials of human health outcomes from oxybenzone exposure, and we could not retrieve statements from AAD, AASM, ACOG, or NIH on specific ingredients.

Avobenzone and the UVA problem

Avobenzone is the other ingredient on FDA's radar, and it is harder to drop without losing coverage. The agency placed it with oxybenzone among ingredients with fewer data gaps, which still means more data are needed. It is generally used with caution because of potential systemic absorption.

One patent document we reviewed describes about eight of the 16 approved US UV filters as regularly used, and says only avobenzone and zinc oxide offer UVA protection (patent document on broad-spectrum mineral compositions). Because that is a patent summary rather than a regulatory source, verify it before you build advice on it.

What the environmental data add, and what they don't

The water data are about ecosystems, not your body. A 2024 study reports that BP-3 is one of the most frequently detected UV filters in surface waters, and that it is toxic to brine shrimp and zebrafish embryos at the concentrations tested (2024 study on benzophenone-3 toxicity).

That is a reason to think about a product's footprint, not a reason to skip sun protection. None of the sources we used address whether avoiding these ingredients changes skin cancer outcomes, so don't swap out sunscreen on that basis. For a broader look at how these products work, see our sunscreen guide.