There’s A New Sunscreen Ingredient In Town, But What Does It Mean For Your Skin?

Until now, getting a new sunscreen filter — the ingredient responsible for protecting skin from damaging, cancer-causing UVA and UVB rays — has felt like the beauty industry’s longest-running will-they-won’t-they saga. This week, however, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved bemotrizinol, aka BEMT, making it the first new sunscreen filter to be signed off in the US in more than 20 years. But what exactly is it, and what does it mean for our skincare routines? First, the backstory. For years, it seemed as though countries outside the US were gatekeeping the most cosmetically elegant sunscreen formulas: the ones that don’t pill under makeup, never sting sensitive eyes, or leave a dubious white cast on deeper skin tones. The reality is more complicated. While sunscreen is considered a cosmetic product across much of Europe and Asia, in the US, it’s regulated as an over-the-counter drug — subject to the kind of rigorous (and sub