In a long-overdue public health win for the American consumer, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved bemotrizinol on June 9, 2026 — the first new sunscreen active ingredient to receive FDA clearance in the United States in more than 25 years. The approval gives Americans access to a UV-filtering chemical compound that has been used safely in Europe, Australia, and other parts of the world for decades.
"For decades, Americans have used outdated sunscreen tech while the rest of the world moved forward," said David Andrews of the Environmental Working Group, which has spent years advocating for the FDA to expand its list of approved sunscreen ingredients. "The approval of bemotrizinol will help change that."
