{"id":1890,"date":"2026-06-21T15:12:42","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T15:12:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1890"},"modified":"2026-06-21T15:12:42","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T15:12:42","slug":"a-better-sunscreen-has-been-available-in-europe-for-25-years-it-just-became-legal-to-sell-in-the-u-s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=1890","title":{"rendered":"A better sunscreen has been available in Europe for 25 years. It just became legal to sell in the U.S."},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

On June 9, 2026, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first new sunscreen ingredient to be permitted for over-the-counter consumer use in the U.S. since 1999 \u2013 a chemical called bemotrizinol.<\/p>

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Bemotrizinol isn\u2019t new \u2013 consumers in Europe and Asia have used it for decades. Some are hailing its long-overdue approval and arrival onto the U.S. sunscreen scene.<\/p>

<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

I am a biomedical engineer studying skin science \u2013 including the damaging effects of the Sun\u2019s rays. To understand what bemotrizinol does and how it fits in with products already available to consumers in the U.S., let\u2019s take a tour of the physics of sunlight and sunscreens.<\/p>\n

A short primer on sunlight<\/h2>\n

Our planet is irradiated by a yellow dwarf star 93,000,000 miles away that we fondly call the Sun. It radiates light from its surface at a temperature of about 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit.<\/p>\n

The Earth\u2019s atmosphere blocks most of the Sun\u2019s radiation. Of the rays that get through, about half consist of infrared light \u2013 which gives you that warm feeling you feel on a sunny day \u2013 and 40% visible light, which you are probably familiar with as daylight.<\/p>\n

About 10% of those rays are ultraviolet, or UV, light. UV light has the shortest wavelengths of the three types. That makes it the most dangerous \u2013 it\u2019s invisible and can damage living tissue.<\/p>

<\/div><\/div>\n

Ultraviolet damage<\/h2>\n

Physicists further categorize solar UV light into several types, based on the wavelength, which is measured in nanometers. About 95% of it is UVA (315-400 nm) and 5% is UVB (280-315 nm). Sunscreens need to be able to block those rays from penetrating the skin.<\/p>\n

The sun also emits two other types of UV light \u2013 UVC (200-280 nm) and vacuum UV (100-200 nm) \u2013 but these are stopped by the atmosphere, so sunscreens do not typically need to be able to block them.<\/p>

<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n
\"A<\/figure>\n
Scientists previously thought that only UVB rays were dangerous because they cause sunburns, but UVA can also damage the skin. m.malinika\/iStock via Getty Images Plus<\/figcaption>\n

Scientists used to think only UVB was harmful because UVB rays cause sunburns. But today, researchers know both types of UV can damage the skin.<\/p>\n

UVB, with its shorter wavelength, has more energy, but UVA can penetrate the skin more deeply. And all UV can degrade the integrity of your skin, damage the structure of your DNA and cause skin cancer.<\/p>\n

The only natural safeguard your body has against UV light is a microscopically thin layer of a pigment called melanin in your epidermis. The skin produces more melanin when exposed to the sun \u2013 that\u2019s what tanning is.<\/p>\n

This extra melanin does protect the skin, but not fully. That\u2019s why protecting your skin with sunscreen is so important.<\/p>\n

Sunscreens old and new<\/h2>\n

Sunscreens come in two different forms \u2013 mineral and chemical.<\/p>\n

The first chemical sunscreen, developed in 1891, was an ointment made from quinine \u2013 a plant-derived compound that makes tonic water bitter.<\/p>\n

Chemical sunscreens cover the skin in a transparent coating, acting like a solar sponge. They absorb UV photons and undergo a harmless chemical reaction, then dissipate the energy as heat. Bemotrizinol falls into this category.<\/p>

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Mineral sunscreens such as zinc or titanium oxide ward off the Sun\u2019s rays by forming a protective film that also absorbs most UV light, but reflects some of it. Unlike chemical sunscreens, the film absorbs the light naturally, without a chemical reaction \u2013 which is why they are often visible as a white film on the skin. https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bzUn9iH-D2I?wmode=transparent&start=0 Bemotrizinol has some benefits over sunscreens already sold in the U.S.<\/p>\n

Chemical sunscreens that have been available in the U.S until now combine ingredients like avobenzone, the most widely used UVA filter, with UVB filters such as octinoxate, octocrylene octisalate and homosalate. Working together, these substances protect the skin against the broad spectrum of ultraviolet rays.<\/p>\n

These sunscreens are only effective for a short time because they are degraded by the chemical reactions they undergo, which means they must be frequently re-applied.<\/p>\n

Another important element of sunscreen \u2013 whether mineral or chemical \u2013 is its Sun Protection Factor, or SPF. This number tells you how well a sunscreen prevents your skin from burning \u2013 in other words, what amount of UVB rays it absorbs.<\/p>\n

An SPF of 2 would mean a sunscreen cuts your exposure to UVB rays in half, filtering out 50% of those rays. An SPF of 30 means the sunscreen lets just 1\/30 of the rays penetrate your skin \u2013 which is 3.3%. So it blocks about 97% of the UVB rays.<\/p>\n

Dermatologists generally recommend using a sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30.<\/p>\n

Benefits of bemotrizonol<\/h2>\n

Bemotrizinol, while new to the U.S., isn\u2019t a new compound. European regulators approved it in 2000. Chances are, if you brought back sunscreen from a vacation in Mexico, Europe, Canada or South Korea, you may even have some laying around your house.<\/p>\n

One benefit of bemotrizinol is its ability to filter both UVA and UVB rays, so it doesn\u2019t have to be mixed with other products to do the job.<\/p>\n

It has some other beneficial features as well. First, its molecules prefer to sit on the surface of the skin rather than being more readily absorbed into the bloodstream, which can occur for some formulations.<\/p>\n

Such absorption has raised concerns that sunscreens might be harmful \u2013 though this has not been demonstrated in people, it may discourage some people from using it.<\/p>\n

Bemotrizinol also does not degrade as readily in the sun than other chemical sunscreen products. That photostability means it can last for four to eight hours, rather than having to be applied every two hours or so.<\/p>\n

Regardless of the type, as a skin scientist I can say with certainty that any sunscreen is better than none. Your skin does an excellent job protecting you from the world outside \u2013 so make sure you protect it in return.<\/p>\n

Guy German, Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Binghamton University, State University of New York<\/em><\/p>\n

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.<\/em><\/p>

Read more Vice President\u00a0JD Vance heads to Switzerland for talks with Iran but says he will only be there \u2018for a day or two\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n\n

\"The<\/figure>\n\n<\/figurlazyload><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bemotrizinol \u2014 already common in Mexico, Canada and South Korea \u2014 won FDA approval on June 9, ending a 27-year freeze on new OTC sunscreen ingredients.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1887,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[314],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fda"],"yoast_head":"\nA better sunscreen has been available in Europe for 25 years. 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