Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.
EWG Home EWG’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning EWG’s Food Scores Healthy Living App Open menu

EWG's Skin Deep®
Find products and ingredients Learn how Skin Deep® works Meet our experts Discover EWG VERIFIED®
GET UPDATES DONATE
Score legend
HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED®

Data: Fair

Avobenzone

  • Products with this ingredient are allowed for use in EWG VERIFIED but must meet use restrictions and warnings based on EWG review of company data.
  • This ingredient's score is higher if used in products that may not meet industry safety guidelines or U.S. and international government requirements and may have contamination concerns from toxic impurities. The score will be lower if used in products that do meet these safety guidelines and requirements and EWG’s contamination restrictions.

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

SEARCH PRODUCTS

Other Concerns

Enhanced skin absorption, Use restrictions (moderate), Endocrine disruption (low), Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (low), and Contamination concerns (high)

SYNONYMS

● KBIO2_002195
● KBIO2_004763
● DTXSID9044829
● KBIO2_007331
● CHEMBL1200522
● AVOBENZONE, PHARMACEUTICAL SECONDARY STANDARD; CERTIFIED REFERENCE MATERIAL
● 1-(4-TERT-BUTYLPHENYL)-3-(4-METHOXYPHENYL)-PROPANE-1,3-DIONE
● AVOBENZONE, UNITED STATES PHARMACOPEIA (USP) REFERENCE STANDARD
● SR-05000001974-1
● 1-(4-METHOXYPHENYL)-3-(4-TERT-BUTYLPHENYL)PROPANE-1,3-DIONE

Restricted

Restricted: EWG VERIFIED products cannot contain this ingredient without adequate substantiation

Sunlight causes this unstable ingredient to break down into unknown chemicals, especially in the presence of another active, Octinoxate. Primarily a UVA-absorbing agent.

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

Expand content Collapse content
fragrance for women583 products
fragrance for men234 products
body spray153 products
conditioner32 products
oil controller2 products
hair styling aid18 products
mask4 products
moisturizer35 products
lip gloss31 products
shampoo43 products
body oil22 products
around-eye cream3 products
blush24 products
facial powder3 products
polish remover1 products
hair treatment/serum55 products
hair spray15 products
facial moisturizer/treatment41 products
lip balm26 products
recreational sunscreen549 products
after shave8 products
lipstick16 products
bronzer/highlighter15 products
styling gel/lotion4 products
body wash/cleanser62 products
daily use with SPF322 products
lip balm with SPF88 products
tanning oil13 products
baby sunscreen48 products
foundation57 products
makeup primer12 products
glitter1 products
liquid hand soap13 products
bar soap3 products
anti-aging6 products
bath oil/salts/soak1 products
toners/astringents2 products
lip liner9 products
setting powder/spray6 products
BB cream4 products
hand sanitizer5 products
facial cleanser14 products
serums & essences9 products
body firming lotion11 products
damaged skin treatment2 products
styling mousse/foam1 products
eye shadow13 products
sunless tanning18 products
Facial Sun Care24 products
detangler4 products
after sun product1 products
hand cream3 products
eye liner5 products
exfoliant/scrub6 products
Other Hair Care Preparations1 products
shaving cream2 products
Preshave Preparations1 products

Contamination concerns

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

Allergies/immunotoxicity

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Associated with immunotoxicity or allergiesMultiple chemical sensitivities, including iatrogenic allergic contact dermatitis, in a patient with chronic actinic dermatitis: implications for management(1996-09-01)
immune or allergies - weight of evidence unknown/unassessedRelevance of UV filter/sunscreen product photostability to human safety(2014-01-01)

Cancer

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
One or more in vitro tests on mammalian cells show positive mutation resultsNitroxide radicals protect DNA from damage when illuminated in vitro in the presence of dibenzoylmethane and a common sunscreen ingredient(1999-04-01)

Decreased skin absorption

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Limited potential to absorb into the skin.Sunscreen penetration of human skin and related keratinocyte toxicity after topical application(2005-07-01)

Enhanced skin absorption

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Absorbs into the skinSunscreen penetration of human skin and related keratinocyte toxicity after topical application(2005-07-01)
Absorbs into the skinTransdermal penetration of UV filters(2008-01-01)
Absorbs into the skinEffect of Sunscreen Application on Plasma Concentration of Sunscreen Active Ingredients: A Randomized Clinical Trial(2020-01-01)

Endocrine disruption

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
One or more studies show weak endocrine disruptionEndocrine Activity of AVB, 2MR, BHA, and Their Mixtures(2017-03-01)

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmfulEnvironment Canada

Persistence and bioaccumulation

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada

Ecotoxicology

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be an environmental toxinEnvironment Canada
Limited evidence of environmental toxicityEuropean Chemicals Agency (ECHA)

Use restrictions

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Restricted in cosmetics (recommendations or requirements) - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - Japan - restricted for use in cosmetics (concentration limit)Japan Ministry of Health

Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Limited evidence of skin irritationPeer Reviewed Literature
Limited evidence of eye irritationPeer Reviewed Literature
  • Multiple chemical sensitivities, including iatrogenic allergic contact dermatitis, in a patient with chronic actinic dermatitis: implications for management(1996-09-01)
  • Relevance of UV filter/sunscreen product photostability to human safety(2014-01-01)
  • Nitroxide radicals protect DNA from damage when illuminated in vitro in the presence of dibenzoylmethane and a common sunscreen ingredient(1999-04-01)
  • Sunscreen penetration of human skin and related keratinocyte toxicity after topical application(2005-07-01)
  • Transdermal penetration of UV filters(2008-01-01)
  • Effect of Sunscreen Application on Plasma Concentration of Sunscreen Active Ingredients: A Randomized Clinical Trial(2020-01-01)
  • Endocrine Activity of AVB, 2MR, BHA, and Their Mixtures(2017-03-01)
  • Environment Canada
  • European Chemicals Agency (ECHA)
  • Japan Ministry of Health
  • Peer Reviewed Literature

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.

Score legend
WEIGHT-OF-EVIDENCE APPROACH

A product’s hazard score is not an average of the ingredients’ hazard scores. It is calculated using a weight-of-evidence approach that factors in all of the hazards or health impacts associated with the ingredients.

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
NONE

Ingredients have not been assessed.

LIMITED-FAIR

There is only a modest volume of research.

GOOD-ROBUST

Ingredients have been studied extensively.

Can’t find your product?

Enter the ingredients in EWG’s Build Your Own Report tool to get an approximate score for that product.

BUILD YOUR OWN REPORT

News & updates

Big Market for Black Cosmetics, but Less-Hazardous Choices Limited
RESEARCH
Big Market for Black Cosmetics, but Less-Hazardous Choices Limited
K-Beauty Trends: Serums, Essences and EWG’s Best Bets
RESEARCH
K-Beauty Trends: Serums, Essences and EWG’s Best Bets
FDA Asks Women To Protect Themselves From Products The Agency Refused To Ban
NEWS RELEASE
FDA Asks Women To Protect Themselves From Products The Agency Refused To Ban
Study Highlights Importance of Cosmetics Ingredient Safety Tests
NEWS RELEASE
Study Highlights Importance of Cosmetics Ingredient Safety Tests
READ ALL ARTICLES
Skindeep Healthy Living App

EWG research
on the go

Find personal care, cleaning, and food products on the EWG Healthy Living app.

DOWNLOAD THE APP