EWG Skin Deep® | What is AVOBENZONE

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Data: Limited

Avobenzone

^†Products with the EWG VERIFIED mark have met the program’s impurity and use restrictions based on EWG's review of the company's data.

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Use restrictions (moderate) and Contamination concerns (high)

SYNONYMS

1,3-PROPANEDIONE, 1-(4-(1,1-DIMETHYLETHYL)PHENYL)-3-(4-METHOXYPHENYL)-, 1,3-PROPANEDIONE, 1-[4-(1,1-DIMETHYLETHYL)PHENYL]-3-(4-METHOXYPHENYL)-, 1,3-PROPANEDIONE, 2-BUTYL-2-METHOXY-1,3-DIPHENYL-, 1,3PROPANEDIONE, 1[4(1,1DIMETHYLETHYL)PHENYL]3(4METHOXYPHENYL), 1-(4-(1,1-DIMETHYLETHYL)PHENYL)-3-(4-METHOXYPHENYL)-1,3-PROPANEDI- ONE, 1-(4-(1,1-DIMETHYLETHYL)PHENYL)-3-(4-METHOXYPHENYL)-1,3-PROPANEDIONE, 1-(4-(1,1-DIMETHYLETHYL)PHENYL)-3-(4-METHOXYPHENYL)PROPANE-1,3-DIONE, 1-(4-TERT-BUTYLPHENYL)-3-(4-METHOXYPHENYL)PROPANE-1,3-DIONE, 1-(P-TERT-BUTYLPHENYL)-3-(P-METHOXYPHENYL)-1,3-PROPANEDIONE, 1-[4-(1,1-DIMETHYLETHYL)PHENYL]-3-(4-METHOXYPHENYL)- 1,3-PROPANEDIONE, 1-[4-(1,1-DIMETHYLETHYL)PHENYL]-3-(4-METHOXYPHENYL)-1,3-PROPANEDIONE, 1-[4-(1,1-DIMETHYLETHYL)PHENYL]-3-(4-METHOXYPHENYL)PROPANE-1,3-DIONE, 2-BUTYL-2-METHOXY-1,3-DIPHENYL- 1,3-PROPANEDIONE, 4-TERT-BUTYL-4'-METHOXYDIBENZOYLMETHANE, AVEBENZONE, AVO, AVOBENZONA, AVOBENZONE, AVOBENZONE (PARSOL 1789 | BUTYL METHOXYDIBENZOYLMETHANE), AVOBENZONUM, BMDBM, BUTYL METHOXYBENZOYLMETHANE, BUTYL METHOXYDIBENZOYLMETHANE, EINECS 274-581-6, METHOXYDIBENZOYLMETHANE, and PARSOL 1789

This common sunscreen ingredient offers protection from UVA rays. Sunlight can cause this ingredient to break down and lose its effectiveness for skin protection. Photodegredation is delayed by mixing avobenzone with stabilizing chemicals.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

LOW

Cancer
LOW

Allergies & Immunotoxicity
LOW

Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity
MODERATE

Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

CONCERNS
DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

recreational sunscreen	523 products
daily use with SPF	322 products
fragrance for women	194 products
lip balm with SPF	94 products
fragrance for men	73 products
body spray	67 products
baby sunscreen	60 products
hair treatment/serum	22 products
moisturizer	21 products
facial moisturizer/treatment	17 products
tanning oil	16 products
body wash/cleanser	16 products
body oil	15 products
blush	12 products
makeup primer	10 products
shampoo	10 products
conditioner	10 products
lip liner	9 products
lip balm	9 products
foundation	8 products
hair styling aide	7 products
liquid hand soap	6 products
after shave	5 products
facial cleanser	5 products
hand sanitizer	4 products
hair spray	4 products
serums & essences	4 products
lipstick	3 products
setting powder/spray	3 products
eye shadow	3 products
bronzer/highlighter	2 products
exfoliant/scrub	2 products
around-eye cream	2 products
detangler	2 products
BB cream	1 products
after sun product	1 products
toners/astringents	1 products
CC cream	1 products
sunless tanning	1 products
lip gloss	1 products
damaged skin treatment	1 products
styling gel/lotion	1 products
anti-aging	1 products
styling mousse/foam	1 products

Contamination concerns

Chemical
BENZOIC ACID
4-T-BUTYLBENZOIC ACID
BENZALDEHYDE
P-ANISIC ACID
ACETOPHENONE
DIBENZOYLMETHANE

Enhanced skin absorption

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Absorbs into the skin	Open scientific literature

Decreased skin absorption

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Limited potential to absorb into the skin.	Open scientific literature

Use restrictions

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Restricted in cosmetics (recommendations or requirements) - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - Japan - restricted for use in cosmetics (concentration limit)	Japan's Standards for Cosmetics

Cancer

CONCERN	REFERENCE
One or more in vitro tests on mammalian cells show positive mutation results	Open scientific literature

Allergies/immunotoxicity

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Associated with immunotoxicity or allergies	Open scientific literature

Data gaps

CONCERN	REFERENCE
312 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical	NLM PubMed

Ecotoxicology

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Not suspected to be an environmental toxin	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmful	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Persistence and bioaccumulation

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Not suspected to be bioaccumulative	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. 2006. Standards for Cosmetics. Evaluation and Licensing Division. Pharmaceutical and Food Safety Bureau.
NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2012. PubMed online scientific bibliography data. http://www.pubmed.gov.
EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.

Understanding scores

Cosmetics and personal care products are not required to be tested for safety before being allowed on the market. The Skin Deep® scoring system was designed to help the public understand whether a product is safe to use or whether it contains ingredients of concern.

Every product and ingredient in Skin Deep gets a two-part score – one for hazard and one for data availability. The safest products score well by both measures, with a low hazard rating and a fair or better data availability rating.

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES

Hazard score

The Skin Deep ingredient hazard score, from 1 to 10, reflects known and suspected hazards linked to the ingredients. The EWG VERIFIED™ mark means a product meets EWG’s strictest criteria for transparency and health.

Data availability

The Skin Deep data availability rating reflects the number of scientific studies about the product or ingredient in the published scientific literature.

NONE LIMITED FAIR GOOD ROBUST

Low Availability

Moderate Availability

High Availability