OCTOCRYLENE

📋 Quick facts

Description: OCTOCRYLENE — chemical UV filter (UVB), helps stabilize other filters.

All Functions: chemical UV filter (UVB), helps stabilize other filters

Quick Facts:

• Category: sunscreen

Proven Benefits At A Glance:

• Octocrylene is an organic UV filter that absorbs UVB and short UVA radiation
• Your skin absorbs very little of it when applied—less than 0.33% of the dose enters your body
• It has a long history of safe use in sunscreens at concentrations up to 10%
• It works well alongside other UV filters, particularly stabilizing the filter avobenzone
• Rare contact allergy exists, but photoallergy (reactions triggered by sun exposure) is more common, especially in people previously sensitized to the drug ketoprofen
• No evidence of hormone-disrupting effects at approved concentrations

⚗️ Chemical Overview

2-ethylhexyl-2-cyano-3,3-diphenylacrylate is a yellow viscous liquid. Insoluble in water. (NTP, 1992) Octocrylene is a diarylmethane. Octocrylene is a compound often used as an additive in sun screen, and is thought to have skin moisturizing effects because of its emollient properties. What makes this chemical such a popular additive to sun block, is its ability to neutralize UV radiation dissipated by sunlight, and to minimize skin damage from prolonged sun exposure. Octocrylene is also often combined with avobenzone, another common sunscreen ingredient often appearing on ingredient labels. Because of its effectiveness, the chemical has been approved across the globe for use in cosmetics and skin care products, but the concentrations of this ingredient are usually limited to no more than 10 or 12 percent. However, the use of this chemical doesn’t just stop with sunscreen for face and arms, but can extend to a variety of other products, like hair spray, tannin oil, BB cream, conditioner, and CC cream, among others. Octocrylene may cause contact and photocontact allergy.

Source(s): CAMEO Chemicals, ChEBI, DrugBank, via PubChem

📊 Comedogenicity

🛡️ Safety rating

Safety tier is a starting heuristic from regulatory status and comedogenic rating, not a dermatological verdict — see our Terms for the full disclaimer. Research confidence reflects how many real cited studies back this ingredient, not the strength of their findings.

🤰 Pregnancy Safety Note

Degrades to benzophenone (potential carcinogen). Limited pregnancy data.

🌍 Regulatory Status

💧 Skin Type Compatibility

Derived from this ingredient’s irritancy potential and comedogenicity rating against the needs of each skin type — e.g. oily and acne-prone skin are marked down for pore-clogging ingredients, sensitive skin for irritants. A starting heuristic, not a dermatological verdict.

⚠️ Don’t Combine With

📚 Research & Evidence

🔬 The Science

Octocrylene (2-ethylhexyl-2-cyano-3,3-diphenylacrylate) is an organic UV filter used in sunscreens and cosmetics to prevent skin damage from ultraviolet radiation (Crit Rev Toxicol, 2025; J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol, 2019). Here’s what the research shows:

#1: Absorption and exposure. When you apply a sunscreen containing octocrylene, your skin absorbs remarkably little of it—in vitro studies using actual human skin samples found percutaneous absorption of only 0.33% of the applied dose (Crit Rev Toxicol, 2025). It has limited presence in blood and urine from human biomonitoring studies, and six tentative metabolites have been identified, though their individual safety profiles haven’t been fully characterized.

#2: Safety at approved concentrations. Octocrylene shows no acute toxicity and did not cause eye irritation, skin irritation, or phototoxicity in standard testing (Crit Rev Toxicol, 2025). A 90-day rat dietary study established a no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL—the highest dose showing no harm) of 175 mg/kg/day based on liver and thyroid effects only at much higher doses. A reproductive toxicity study in rats found a NOAEL of 153–163 mg/kg/day, with no evidence of effects on brain development, immune function, or hormone-related endpoints (Crit Rev Toxicol, 2025). Importantly, octocrylene did not trigger genotoxicity concerns (damage to genetic material) in laboratory or animal studies.

Regulatory safety margins are greater than 100-fold, meaning the approved concentration in sunscreens (up to 10%) is far below levels that would pose concern (Crit Rev Toxicol, 2025). #3: Endocrine system. Despite earlier concerns, octocrylene has no endocrine disruption potential—it does not interfere with hormone systems at approved concentrations (J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol, 2019). #4: Allergic reactions are rare but possible. Contact allergy to octocrylene itself is uncommon and occurs mostly in children from sunscreen use (Contact Dermatitis, 2014; Arch Dermatol, 2010). However, photocontact allergy—an allergic reaction that requires both the chemical and sun exposure—is more frequent, particularly in adults (J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol, 2019).

Notably, photoallergy to octocrylene is strongly associated with prior photoallergy to the pain reliever ketoprofen; people sensitized to ketoprofen often develop photoreactions to octocrylene as well, though the biological mechanism remains unclear (Contact Dermatitis, 2014; Arch Dermatol, 2010). #5: Photoprotection synergy. Octocrylene works well alongside other UV filters—it stabilizes avobenzone, a popular UVA filter that can degrade under sunlight, allowing for broader and more durable sun protection (J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol, 2019; Chemosphere, 2024). Limitations: The sources do not include formal 2-year carcinogenicity studies in humans, though available subchronic data and a mouse photocarcinogenicity study (which showed octocrylene actually reduced UV-induced tumors) make human cancer risk unlikely (Crit Rev Toxicol, 2025).

Environmental effects on marine ecosystems are mentioned but not detailed in these abstracts (Chemosphere, 2024).

📄 Related Research

Matched by search — not necessarily verified support for every statement above.

• Norman KG et al. (2025). Comprehensive review of octocrylene toxicology data and human exposure assessment for personal care products. Crit Rev Toxicol.
• Berardesca E et al. (2019). Review of the safety of octocrylene used as an ultraviolet filter in cosmetics. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol.
• de Groot AC et al. (2014). Contact and photocontact allergy to octocrylene: a review. Contact Dermatitis.
• Gholap AD et al. (2024). Environmental implications and nanotechnological advances in octocrylene-enriched sunscreen formulations: A comprehensive review. Chemosphere.
• Avenel-Audran M et al. (2010). Octocrylene, an emerging photoallergen. Arch Dermatol.

🧴 Products Containing OCTOCRYLENE

• Nivea, Nivea Sun Spray transparent protection invisible 30 haute
• Nivea Nivea q10 plus anti rides
• Nivea Sun Pflegende Sonnenmilch – LSF 50+ Sehr Hoch
• Nivea, Nivea Men NIVEA Men Hyaluron Anti-age Gezichtscrème
• Nivea Q10 Plus Soin de jour FPS 15
• Nivea Sun kids Lait protecteur Protect & Sensitive
• Nivea NIVEA CREME DARK SPOT REDUCTION
• BRYNILD GRUPPEN AS Nivea Sensitive Day Care 50ml
• Nivea Baby sun Crème solaire très haute protection FPS 50+
• BRYNILD GRUPPEN AS Nivea Day Care Q10 Plus C 50ml
• Beierdorf labello med repair
• labello All-Wetter set
• nivea hand cream 3 in 1 repaircare
• Sun Dance, Sundance Sonnenmilch 30 (hoch)
• dm sun dance 30 transparentes sonnenspray
• Sun dance, Sundance Sonnen light Lotion mit Kokosduft 20 mittel
• Cien Sun Kids spray solaire
• cien sun Cien sun kid sensitive sun cream 50SPF
• Cien Bronceador bifásico 30
• Sundance, sun dance Transparentes Sonnenspray LSF 50
• Sun Dance, Sundance Sonnencreme-Gel Sport
• lacura sun lacura sun spray
• Calypso facial protection
• Hawaiian Tropic Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydratation
• Ponds
• BRYNILD GRUPPEN AS Nivea Q10 Day & Night Cream Gavepakke
• crema liquida humectante lubriderm
• rayito de sol
• Coop latte solare fresca idratazione protezione bassa 6
• Conad Essentiae Crema Viso con estratti di aloe vera e tè matcha
• Hawaiian Tropic Hawaiian Tropic Baby
• Biafine SoleilBiafine Lait Spray Solaire Enfant Triple Résistance
• Biafine SoleilBiafine Lait protecteur ultra-hydratant triple résistance FPS 50+
• Babaria Aceite protector monoi
• Leche Corporal con Rosa Mosqueta (Babaria)
• babaria
• Babaria spray protector solar
• facial suncare wes
• Cien crema solar
• Eucerin Lotion Sun Protection kids SPF 50+