FDA Sunscreen UV Filter Tracker: What’s Approved, What’s Pending, and What’s Next

Last updated: October 8th, 2026 — this page is reviewed and refreshed every time the FDA takes public action on a sunscreen filter. Bookmark it or check back rather than re-Googling each ingredient name.

La Roche-Posay Introduces Anthelios UVDefense SPF 50 with BEMT

La Roche-Posay is joining the growing number of sunscreen brands bringing bemotrizinol (BEMT) to the U.S. market with its Anthelios UVDefense Sunscreen SPF 50, a lightweight facial sunscreen featuring the newly permitted UV filter.

The launch marks another significant development in the U.S. sunscreen market. BEMT is a photostable, broad-spectrum UV filter that absorbs both UVA and UVB radiation and has been used internationally for years. Its introduction into U.S. formulations gives established sunscreen brands greater flexibility to develop products that combine effective sun protection with lightweight, cosmetically elegant textures.

The new Anthelios UVDefense SPF 50 is marketed as a weightless, milky facial sunscreen, reflecting the growing emphasis on comfortable, everyday sun protection. With La Roche-Posay joining brands such as Neutrogena and Ultra Violette, BEMT is becoming increasingly accessible to American consumers.

Neutrogena Brings BEMT to the U.S. Market

Bemotrizinol is moving quickly from regulatory approval into mainstream U.S. sun care. Neutrogena launched two facial sunscreens formulated with BEMT: Ultra Sheer Daily Face Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 70 and Clear Face Sunscreen Acne-Prone Skin Broad Spectrum SPF 60. The launch makes the Kenvue-owned brand one of the first mass-market sunscreen companies to bring the newly permitted UV filter to U.S. consumers, following Ultra Violette's earlier entry into the market.

Both formulas use 6% bemotrizinol, the highest concentration permitted under the FDA's June 2026 final order, alongside 3% avobenzone, 15% homosalate, and 5% octisalate. BEMT is a photostable, broad-spectrum filter that absorbs both UVA and UVB radiation, and its addition gives U.S. formulators another tool for improving UVA protection while developing sunscreens with more wearable textures.

Neutrogena is introducing the formulas through a new platform called Cloud-Tech, which combines BEMT with the brand's existing Helioplex360 technology. The company says the platform was inspired in part by the lightweight, skincare-like experience associated with K-beauty sunscreens. The goal is not simply higher sun protection, but formulas that feel lighter, dry quickly, blend invisibly, and are easier to incorporate into an everyday skincare routine.

The two products are designed for slightly different users:

• Ultra Sheer Daily Face SPF 70: positioned as a lightweight daily facial sunscreen that can layer under makeup without the heavy, greasy feel often associated with high-SPF formulas
• Clear Face SPF 60: designed specifically for acne-prone skin and incorporates skincare ingredients including niacinamide and vitamin E. 

Where to buy: Both Neutrogena BEMT sunscreens are on my running list of bemotrizinol sunscreens now available in the U.S. : https://www.amazon.com/shop/janeyoomd/list/ES1SZ4EXAC3B?ref_=aipsflist&tag=janeyoomd-20

The launch is significant because it shows how quickly BEMT is beginning to influence the U.S. sunscreen category. Ultra Violette demonstrated what a BEMT-containing formula could look like from an international sunscreen brand entering the American market. Neutrogena now brings the filter into the mass-market drugstore category, where it has the potential to reach a much larger group of consumers. BEMT's approval was never just about adding another UV filter to a list of permitted ingredients. The larger question was whether access to newer filter technology would allow manufacturers to create sunscreens that combine strong broad-spectrum protection with the lighter, more skincare-like textures consumers increasingly expect. These first launches are beginning to show what that next generation of U.S. sunscreen formulation may look like.

Source: Christine Esposito, Neutrogena's First BEMT Formulas Hit the US Market, HAPPI, September 17, 2026. 

Ultra Violette Brings BEMT to the U.S.

Bemotrizinol is officially moving from FDA approval to U.S. sunscreen shelves. Ultra Violette has become the first brand to launch a BEMT-containing sunscreen in the United States with Unblock Screen SPF 50, part of the Australian brand's SkinScreen range.

Unblock Screen is designed specifically for acne-prone, oily, and reactive skin. The soft-matte formula combines bemotrizinol with zinc-based sun protection and ingredients aimed at making the sunscreen more wearable for breakout-prone skin. Bix'Activ helps address excess oil and blur the appearance of pores, while Pentavitin supports hydration. The result is exactly the kind of formulation flexibility that made BEMT's approval so significant. Better UV filters are not just about increasing protection on paper. They can also give brands more options to create sunscreens that feel better on the skin and are easier to use consistently.

And Ultra Violette is not stopping with one product. The brand plans to introduce Fave Screen SPF 50 in January 2027, formulated with 5% bemotrizinol along with niacinamide and vitamins C and E. The launches offer an early look at how quickly BEMT may begin changing the U.S. sunscreen market now that formulators have access to a filter that has already been used internationally for years.

Source: Personal Care Insights, Bemotrizinol US FDA approval spurs sunscreen innovation, September 1, 2026.

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Why I built this tracker

For nearly 25 years, the United States did not approve a single new sunscreen active ingredient, even as dermatologists and formulators watched Europe, Asia, and Australia gain access to newer, more elegant, more photostable UV filters. That changed in June 2026, when the FDA finalized an order adding bemotrizinol to the OTC sunscreen monograph — the first new filter approved since the late 1990s. But bemotrizinol was only one of eight ingredients that have been sitting in the FDA's Time and Extent Application (TEA) pipeline under the 2014 Sunscreen Innovation Act. Patients and journalists keep asking me the same question: "what's next?" This page is my answer, and I'll keep it current as the FDA moves on the rest of the list.

Current status at a glance

Bemotrizinol — approved (the one that broke the 25-year logjam)

The FDA announced its proposed order on December 11, 2025 (Federal Register notice December 12), and issued the final administrative order (OTC000039) on June 10, 2026 — roughly seven months later, using the expedited process created by the 2020 CARES Act. The final order permits bemotrizinol at concentrations up to 6% in broad-spectrum sunscreen products for adults and children 6 months and older, across oils, lotions, creams, and sprays; it may be combined with any other monograph sunscreen active except PABA or trolamine salicylate. The order takes effect August 9, 2026, after which manufacturers can begin reformulating and launching U.S. products that contain it. Bemotrizinol has been used safely in Europe, Asia, and elsewhere for decades and offers broad-spectrum, photostable UVA/UVB protection that many formulators and dermatologists have wanted access to for years.

The other seven filters — where they actually stand

Each of the remaining seven TEA filters received an FDA "data gap" feedback letter or proposed order back in 2014–2015, asking manufacturers to submit additional safety and effectiveness data (largely dermal absorption and long-term safety studies) before the FDA would move to a final GRASE (generally recognized as safe and effective) determination. As of this update, none of the seven has advanced to a favorable proposed or final order. Industry groups and dermatology organizations have continued to push for FDA action, and commentators covering bemotrizinol's approval have noted that the U.S. still lags well behind the EU, Japan, and Australia, where more than a dozen additional filters are already approved. There is no confirmed public timeline yet for when the FDA will act on bisoctrizole, drometrizole trisiloxane, octyl triazone, amiloxate, diethylhexyl butamido triazone (iscotrizinol), ecamsule, or enzacamene — this page will be updated the moment any of them receives a proposed or final order.

For a full side-by-side breakdown of which UV filters are approved where — not just in the US, but across the EU, UK, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Canada, China, Brazil, and India — see my complete UV Filter Comparison by Country.

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Frequently asked questions

When will I be able to buy a sunscreen with bemotrizinol in it?

The final order took effect August 9, 2026, and the first bemotrizinol sunscreens are already reaching U.S. shelves. Ultra Violette launched Unblock Screen SPF 50, and Neutrogena followed with Ultra Sheer Daily Face SPF 70 and Clear Face SPF 60. More brands are expected to follow as they finish reformulating and testing. You can find the BEMT sunscreens currently available in the U.S. on my running list, which I update as new products launch: Ultra Sheer Daily Face Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 70, Clear Face Sunscreen Acne-Prone Skin Broad Spectrum SPF 60, and Ultra Violette Unblock Screen SPF 50

Why has it taken so long for the U.S. to approve new sunscreen filters?

Sunscreens are regulated as over-the-counter drugs in the U.S., not cosmetics, which means new filters must go through a GRASE safety and effectiveness review rather than the lighter-touch cosmetic ingredient process used in the EU and elsewhere. The 2014 Sunscreen Innovation Act was meant to speed this up for eight backlogged filters, but most have remained stuck in data-gap status for over a decade.

Is iscotrizinol the same as diethylhexyl butamido triazone?

Yes — iscotrizinol (marketed as Uvasorb HEB) is the common name for diethylhexyl butamido triazone, one of the eight ingredients in the FDA's TEA pipeline.

How often is this page updated?

I review and update this tracker whenever the FDA publishes a new proposed order, final order, or other public action on any of these eight filters — typically checked monthly at minimum.

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Sources

• • FDA — FDA Expands Sunscreen Options for the First Time in 20 Years (June 9, 2026)

• • FDA — FDA Proposes Expanding Sunscreen Active Ingredient List (Dec 11, 2025)

• • FDA — Regulatory Policy Information: Sunscreen Innovation Act

• • Federal Register — Final order notice, Amending OTC Monograph M020 (June 10, 2026)

• • Federal Register — Proposed order notice, Amending OTC Monograph M020 (Dec 12, 2025)

• • Venable LLP — FDA Clears the Way for Bemotrizinol

• • Holland & Knight — FDA Proposes First New Sunscreen Ingredient in Decades

• • NPR — 4 things to know about the new sunscreen ingredient the FDA approved

• • Beauty Independent — The US May Finally Get A New Sunscreen Filter. Here's What It Could Mean.

• • EWG — In major win for U.S. consumers, FDA approves first new sunscreen ingredient in 25 years

Have a correction or a tip about FDA movement on one of these filters? Email me — I want this to stay the most accurate tracker on the topic.

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