Benzophenone-3  or oxybenzone, primarily functions as a photostabilizer and sunscreen.

Uses

  • Used in sunscreens.

  • Besides sunscreen, it can be found in a variety of personal care products such as nail polish, lotions, and lipstick.

Benefits

  • Among the vast selection of sunscreen active ingredients, Benzophenone-3 is classified as a “chemical” sunscreen agent. Inadequate when used alone, benzophenone-3 absorbs UVB and short UVA rays but is a relatively weak chemical UV absorber. By absorbing UV rays, it also helps preserve the integrity of other cosmetic ingredients, preventing their deterioration under the sun. For this reason, benzophenone-3 is most often used in conjunction with other sunscreen agents.

Cautions

The FDA has approved the use of Benzophenone-3 as a safe and effective OTC sunscreen ingredient, but only in concentrations up to 6%. The EU Cosmetics Directive has also assessed the sunscreen ingredient as safe at up to concentrations of 10%, and requires products that contain more than .5% of the ingredient to be labeled “contains Oxybenzone.” Sweden has banned the use of this ingredient.

Interactions

n/a

Other names

oxybenzone

References

Source:  TruthinAging, https://www.truthinaging.com/ingredients/benzophenone-3

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