What is Bemotriginol, the new FDA-approved sunscreen ingredient?
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved bemotriginol, also known as BEMT, for use in over-the-counter sunscreens. It is the first new sunscreen active ingredient approved in the United States in more than 25 years.
Bemotriginol is a broad-spectrum UV filter that helps protect your skin from both UVA and UVB rays. It is also highly photostable and does not degrade quickly when exposed to sunlight. These properties have made this ingredient widely used in sunscreen formulations in Europe, Asia, and Australia for many years. While many U.S. sunscreens already offer broad-spectrum protection, U.S. brands have access to a much smaller toolbox of approved UV filters than foreign brands.
Bemotriginol offers formulators another option to create lightweight, effective sunscreens with strong UV protection. Therefore, sunscreen experts consider this approval a very important milestone. Although consumers cannot yet find bemotriginol-based sunscreens on U.S. shelves, this decision could pave the way for a new generation of sunscreen formulations in the coming years.
