- Also on labels as
- Oxybenzone
- What it can be used for
- Filters UV light (sunscreen), protects the product from UV light and protects the product from light (the functions the EU ingredient database, CosIng, lists for it; a product may use it for any of them)
- CAS number
- 131-57-7
Why it’s flagged
Under EU evaluation as an endocrine disruptor, or identified as one by a national authority (ED Lists II and III).
- EU ED List II: under evaluation as an endocrine disruptor. Source: EU endocrine disruptor lists (edlists.org)
- EU ED List III: identified as an endocrine disruptor by a national authority. Source: EU endocrine disruptor lists (edlists.org)
EU ED List II: under evaluation as an endocrine disruptor in an EU process. List III: identified as one by a national authority in the EU.
What the research says
- When 100 teenage girls swapped their usual personal care products for ones labeled free of phthalates, parabens, triclosan and oxybenzone for just 3 days, levels of these chemicals in their urine fell by 27-45%. Moderate evidence. Harley 2016
- Two sunscreen ingredients, oxybenzone (benzophenone-3) and homosalate, blocked the male hormone receptor in human cells, at roughly the potency of the pesticide metabolite p,p'-DDE. Moderate evidence. Schlumpf 2004
Each finding shows its evidence grade. See every graded fact or how we grade.
What this page can’t tell you
These lists describe what a substance can do, its hazard. The risk from one product depends on how much is in it and how you use it, and the label doesn’t say how much.
Not being on a list doesn’t make an ingredient safe. It may never have been assessed.
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Flagged the same way
Official lists checked September 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.