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.

Oxybenzone is one of the more popular molecules used by chemists during the manufacturing of cosmetics and is included in sunscreen for UV protection. The chemical is often used to stabilize and strengthen the color and scent of skin care products, but its widest use is in the form of sun block. Unfortunately, the debate about the safety of oxybenzone is still ongoing. One of the biggest concerns in the medical community about the widespread use of the molecule comes from the fact that it’s easily absorbed into the body. This absorption raises concerns that oxybenzone may accumulate in the body, eventually leading to potentially toxic levels of the chemical, which can affect the endocrine system.

Lisadimate (glyceryl PABA), a substituted aminobenzoate, is a sunscreen with actions similar to those of aminobenzoic acid. It is effective against UVB light. Glyceryl PABA (Escalol 106), present in many popular sunscreens, is a common sensitizer which invariably cross-reacts with benzocaine; it is present in over 400 over-the-counter products. Glyceryl PABA does not appear to cross-react with the sunscreening agents amyl (Escalol 506) and octyl (Escalol 507) dimethyl PABA. Glyceryl PABA, may, on occasion, cross-react with para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA), paraphenylenediamine, aniline, and sulfa drugs. Ironically, the sunscreening agent glyceryl PABA may, itself, act as a photosensitizing agent.

Diethylamino hydroxybenzoyl hexyl benzoate (DHHB) is an organic UV filter with high absorption in the UV-A range that minimizes the overexposure of human skin to ultraviolet radiation that may lead to acute and chronic photodamage. In in vitro studies, DHHB was not shown to be mutagenic, clastogenic, or phototoxic. DHHB was approved in Europe in 2005, is also marketed in the U.S., South America, Mexico, Japan and Taiwan, and is used in concentrations up to 10% in sunscreen products, either alone or in combination with other UV absorbers. Only a minor amount of diethylamino hydroxybenzoyl hexyl benzoate will undergo percutaneous absorption and most will remain in the upper layers of the skin. Fluorescence spectroscopy showed that DHHB and avobenzone (another chemical sunscreen ingredient) interact by a static quenching mechanism and DHHB did not affect the avobenzone excited state lifetime.