Can Bemotrizinol Make Sunscreen Healthier to Wear?

You may have heard that sunscreen ingredients can get into your bloodstream, and they can. In a 2020 FDA-funded trial, all six sunscreen filters tested, including avobenzone and oxybenzone, were absorbed at levels above the FDA's threshold for requiring more safety evidence.⁶ Crossing that threshold wasn't a sign that anyone was harmed, and the researchers cautioned that their results weren't a reason to stop using sunscreen.⁶

Still, the finding raises a fair question about what sunscreen needs to do. Its UV filters work at the surface of your skin, where they intercept UV radiation, so they don't need to reach your bloodstream to protect you.³ It's a bit like an umbrella, which works by staying between you and the rain. So a filter that protects well while staying mostly on the skin is a reasonable thing to want, as long as it also has a favorable safety assessment.

In June 2026, the FDA added a UV filter called bemotrizinol, also known as Tinosorb S, to the ingredients allowed in U.S. sunscreens.^{1, 9} It was the first time in 20 years the agency had expanded sunscreen options, and it opened access to an ingredient already used internationally.¹ Twenty years is a long wait for a new sunscreen ingredient. When the FDA first proposed the change, Commissioner Marty Makary said, "Americans deserve timely access to the best safe, effective, and consumer-friendly over-the-counter products available."² For bemotrizinol, that means broad UV coverage and low absorption into the body, along with favorable evidence on how well skin tolerates it.²

That combination is good news, and it's worth looking for. Next time you compare sunscreens, ask how much of each one ends up in your body, alongside how well it protects and how it feels.

How much actually gets in?

Bemotrizinol's size works in its favor. It's a relatively large molecule, about 628 daltons, the unit used to measure the mass of molecules,⁴ and its size helps limit how easily it passes through skin.⁵ Picture a beach ball at a chain-link fence.

You can't judge absorption by feel, though. A sunscreen that seems to have "sunk in" tells you nothing about how much reached your blood, so researchers measure blood levels instead.

For bemotrizinol, the manufacturer sponsored a study that the FDA reviewed. Healthy adults applied one of three bemotrizinol formulas to 75% of the body four times a day for four days. The schedule was intensive, which makes it a useful test of repeated use over a large area of skin.⁴ Absorption into the body, which researchers call systemic exposure, was low and intermittent, though some blood levels were measurable. That's a reassuring result.⁴

Both this study and the 2020 trial measured absorption, using different formulas and designs, so neither can show whether switching sunscreens improves your long-term health.

What about older sunscreen filters?

Two older filters did turn out to have real problems. In 2026, the FDA concluded that the risks of PABA and trolamine salicylate in sunscreen outweigh their benefits. It described allergic reactions associated with PABA, including reactions triggered by light, and raised concerns about bleeding and other systemic effects from trolamine salicylate.⁷

The agency also says it knows of no sunscreens currently sold in the U.S. that contain either one. For several other filters, it's still an open question whether the safety evidence is complete.⁸

Does it hold up in the sun?

A good filter also has to keep working in sunlight. Bemotrizinol is photostable, which means it resists breaking down under UV light, and it can help keep a more familiar filter stable too. In a lab study of formulas containing avobenzone, adding bemotrizinol helped preserve both the filters and the protection they provided under UV exposure.⁹

That study looked at how the filters behave under UV light, not at what reaches your blood. In a formula that pairs them, avobenzone's own absorption into the body is still a separate question.^{9, 6} And being stable in sunlight doesn't stop sunscreen from washing off or rubbing away, so reapplying still matters.³

Will you like wearing it?

The FDA describes bemotrizinol as rarely causing skin irritation, which is encouraging for something meant for repeated wear.² Texture and finish depend on the whole formula, though. If you dislike a sticky feel or a visible residue, one ingredient can't promise the finish you're after. No filter, however well behaved, rescues a sunscreen that feels like frosting. Enjoying a sunscreen is a legitimate reason to prefer it, whether or not that enjoyment turns out to make you use it more consistently.

What to look for

When you're choosing a sunscreen, low absorption is a reasonable quality to weigh alongside protection and comfort. Bemotrizinol gives formulators a credible option, so it's fair to expect them to build it into sunscreens comfortable enough to wear every day.

That's what "healthier to wear" can mean: protection that stays mostly on your skin, in a formula you actually enjoy putting on.

Sources

1. US Food and Drug Administration. FDA expands sunscreen options for the first time in 20 years. June 9, 2026. Accessed October 22, 2026.
2. US Food and Drug Administration. FDA proposes expanding sunscreen active ingredient list. December 11, 2025. Accessed October 22, 2026.
3. US Food and Drug Administration. Sunscreen: how to help protect your skin from the sun. Accessed October 22, 2026.
4. US Food and Drug Administration, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. Scientific review supporting proposed administrative order OTC000039: amending over-the-counter monograph M020: sunscreen drug products for over-the-counter human use. December 9, 2025. Accessed October 22, 2026.
5. Matthius A. What to know about the new FDA-approved sunscreen ingredient bemotrizinol. Blog post, Cancer Research Catalyst (American Association for Cancer Research). June 16, 2026. Accessed October 22, 2026.
6. Matta MK, et al. Effect of sunscreen application on plasma concentration of sunscreen active ingredients: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA, 2020.
7. US Food and Drug Administration. Final administrative order OTC000008–1: amending over-the-counter monograph M020: sunscreen drug products for over-the-counter human use, and related information; aminobenzoic acid (PABA) and trolamine salicylate. September 11, 2026. Accessed October 22, 2026.
8. US Food and Drug Administration. Questions and answers: FDA's regulatory actions on over-the-counter sunscreen. Accessed October 22, 2026.
9. Chatelain E, Gabard B. Photostabilization of butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane (avobenzone) and ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate by bis-ethylhexyloxyphenol methoxyphenyl triazine (Tinosorb S), a new UV broadband filter. Photochem Photobiol, 2001.