Oxybenzone (Benzophenone-3)
Also: benzophenone-3 · BP-3 · 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone · oxybenzone
Avoid — a systemically absorbed UV filter detected in nearly all reproductive-age and pregnant women; estrogenic and endocrine-disrupting.
Fertility & hormonal impact
FDA absorption studies (2019–2020) showed oxybenzone reaches systemic blood concentrations far exceeding the 0.5 ng/mL threshold that triggers further toxicology testing, and biomonitoring detects it in the urine of nearly all reproductive-age and pregnant women in the US. Oxybenzone shows estrogenic and anti-androgenic activity in vitro and disrupts steroid-hormone signaling. Because the hormonal balance of the menstrual cycle and early pregnancy is finely tuned, a widely absorbed estrogen-mimicking UV filter applied daily is a reasonable preconception concern, and human studies have begun linking benzophenone-type filters to altered reproductive hormones and cycle characteristics. Hawaii banned oxybenzone from sunscreens in 2021 over ecological and human-health concerns.
Found in.
Two jurisdictions, two different verdicts.
Permitted at up to 6% in sunscreens, but under active review for endocrine disruption classification.
One of two sunscreen filters FDA proposed reclassifying to 'not GRASE' in 2019/2021 pending safety data. Still technically permitted pending a final rule.
The receipts.
- [01]Matta et al. 2019 — Sunscreen absorption into bloodstream, JAMA (PubMed)pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31058986/
- [02]Krause et al. 2012 — Sunscreens and endocrine-disrupting properties of UV filters (PubMed)pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22612478/
- [03]FDA — OTC sunscreen proposed order Q&Awww.fda.gov/drugs/understanding-over-counter-medicines/questions-and-answers-fda-posts-deemed-final-order-and-proposed-order-over-counter-sunscreen
Find Oxybenzone (Benzophenone-3) before it finds you.
Point the camera at any barcode. Pomenatal reads the ingredient list and tells you, in one tap, whether Oxybenzone (Benzophenone-3) is hiding in the products you use while trying to conceive.