How BEMT Will Reshape the US Sunscreen Market

For decades, sunscreen innovation in the United States has been defined less by scientific breakthroughs and more by regulatory constraints. While consumers in Europe, Asia, and Australia gained access to newer UV filters that enabled lighter textures, transparent finishes, and more cosmetically elegant formulas, American brands were left with a limited list of approved sunscreen actives that felt subpar in comparison.

That changed recently with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of bis-ethylhexyloxyphenol methoxyphenyl triazine (BEMT, also known as bemotrizinol or Tinosorb S), marking the first new sunscreen filter approved in the U.S. in decades. The ingredient has been used internationally for years and is prized for its photostability and broad-spectrum protection. While consumers shouldn’t expect an overnight overhaul of retail shelves, formulators believe the approval represents a meaningful shift in what brands can create for the U.S. market. Notably, European ingredient supplier DSM-Firmenich has exclusive rights to sell sunscreen containing BEMT in the U.S. for 18 months, starting next month, under the name Parsol Shield.

To explore how this new ingredient may change the future of suncare, we tapped Kevin Cureton and Dr. Harry Sarkas—CEO and chief scientific officer, respectively, of skin health technology company Solésence—for their insights and predictions.

Bigger Formulation Toolbox

The U.S. hasn’t approved a new sunscreen filter since 1999, leaving formulators with a limited library for innovation. BEMT widens the scope. "You need a toolbox to be able to formulate as many choices as a consumer needs," says Cureton. "This is a very useful tool."

Unlike older chemical UVA filters approved in the U.S. like avobenzone, BEMT is highly photostable, meaning it doesn’t break down as readily when exposed to sunlight. It also delivers both UVA and UVB protection, which Sarkas notes opens up different ways of formulating without relying on as many stabilizers or layering together numerous ingredients to achieve lasting protection. Both aspects make it not only valuable as a primary UV filter but also as an SPF booster that enhances overall protection efficiency.

Those aspects can translate into more transparent formulas, lighter textures, and hybrid mineral-chemical sunscreens that previously would have been difficult to create. Solésence is already putting the latter into practice. Although the company has historically focused on mineral sunscreens, Cureton says it is developing hybrid formulas that combine mineral filters with BEMT, alongside new UV-boosting technologies, to give brands an even broader palette of options.

Sarkas caveats, though, that it is possible to have too much of a good thing when formulating with BEMT. "If you use too much of this particular ingredient, there is the possibility that it may end up greasy and heavy," he explains. "But if it’s used judiciously, it could enhance some of those lighter textures or just different textures."

Navigating these delicate formulation balances is a common challenge for brands, often requiring specialized expertise to fix costly product failures before they reach retail shelves.

He also adds that, while BEMT is essentially transparent when incorporated into a formula—helping eliminate the white cast dreaded by many consumers with darker skin tones—the final transparency and finish can still be influenced by other ingredients, skin type, and the overall formula finish.

More Options For Customers

Despite the excitement surrounding BEMT’s approval, Cureton and Sarkas are careful not to position it as a silver bullet that will suddenly solve every sunscreen complaint. Instead, they argue its biggest value lies in expanding the range of products brands can create, providing customers with more SPF options to choose from. As concern over American teens’ love of sunbathing continues to flummox skin health experts, the hope is that more product options will drive adoption.

This push for better daily protection comes as the broader suncare market evolves, with post-sun care set for a global boom as consumers increasingly prioritize skin recovery alongside prevention.

“What’s the number one determinant of how well a sunscreen works?” asks Cureton. “It turns out that it’s nothing on the ingredient list. The answer to that is compliance. Will the consumer put it on to protect themselves? Do they want to put it on? Do they get joy out of it? Because that’s what’s going to drive compliance.”

That conversation matters because compliance remains the industry’s biggest hurdle. As Sarkas notes, the most effective sunscreen isn’t determined by its ingredient list, but by whether consumers are willing to wear it consistently.

“The idea of having additional choices is primarily what this new sunscreen active will enable,” says Cureton. “It broadens the scope and scale of what we can offer. It doesn’t change the healthiness of what we can provide already, but if more consumers have more choice—and we know choice is an important part of consumer behavior—then maybe we make consumers and our country healthier as a result.”

Putting The Spotlight On Sunscreen

Cureton points out that the approval may have marketing value beyond formulation. The introduction of a new sunscreen filter gives brands, experts, and retailers another opportunity to educate consumers about daily SPF use, reapplication, and layering sunscreen into everyday skincare routines. Even if most shoppers never recognize BEMT by name, the increased discussion surrounding sunscreen innovation could encourage greater awareness of skin cancer prevention and everyday sun protection.

“More people talking about sunscreen is a good thing in that it raises consumer awareness around a critical public safety and public health issue,” says Cureton. “I think it’ll also keep us having conversations around concepts like layering and reapplication, which are also really important ways for us to increase use and compliance.”

Opening The Innovation Pipeline

The approval of BEMT has been a major conversation starter, which could have a ripple effect on more filters being approved in the future. While neither Cureton nor Sarkas expects new filters to flood the U.S. market overnight, both believe the approval signals that innovation is moving again after decades of stagnation. “The fact that something new has been approved here is going to drive or at least spotlight the need for innovation in this market in general,” says Sarkas. “And you may see other things that aren’t out there right now start to emerge.”

Cureton hopes it also encourages regulators to establish a more predictable approval pathway similar to countries like Australia, where companies have a clear roadmap for bringing new sunscreen technologies to market. “I can’t say that I anticipate the pipeline opening up right away, but we’re hopeful that it will change,” he says.

A Global Playing Field

Brands have long developed different SPF formulas depending on where they sold products because ingredient approvals varied widely between regions. Now, BEMT joins zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, and avobenzone as an ingredient brands can leverage to simplify global development.

Cureton says the approval opens the door to creating products that can be marketed across multiple regions instead of maintaining separate U.S. and international SKUs, reducing development costs while giving brands more resources to invest in innovation and marketing. For multinational brands, it also creates an opportunity to deliver more consistency across markets instead of offering American consumers different formulas than shoppers in Europe or Asia.

“We know that the sunscreen approval process is still different in every part of the world, but it could be the case where a single formula is sold globally,” says Cureton. “That would be an exciting proposition for some of our brand partners in the industry.”