EU Sets a Phthalate Impurity Limit for the UV Filter DHHB (2025)
A modern UVA filter got scrutinized in 2025 not for itself but for a phthalate that can sneak in during manufacturing, showing why purity matters as much as the INCI name.
In opinion SCCS/1678/25, adopted on 26 June 2025, the SCCS set a maximum safe level of 0.026% (260 ppm) for the phthalate contaminant DnHexP in the UV filter DHHB used up to 10%, while urging manufacturers to target 1 ppm, prompted by German findings of the phthalate metabolite MnHexP in children's urine traced to sunscreen.
The SCCS, the EU's independent cosmetics safety panel, makes clear the issue is manufacturing purity rather than the filter's intrinsic safety, advising that DnHexP contamination be driven as low as technically feasible toward a 1 ppm target.
Questions we get a lot
Is the UV filter DHHB itself unsafe?
No. The 2025 SCCS opinion concerned a phthalate contaminant called DnHexP that can enter DHHB during manufacturing, not the filter's own safety. The panel set a maximum safe contaminant level of 0.026% for DHHB used up to 10% and urged a much lower 1 ppm target. The focus is on purity, not on banning the filter.
Why did regulators look at DHHB now?
The review was prompted by German findings of the phthalate metabolite MnHexP in children's urine, which was traced back to sunscreen containing contaminated DHHB. The SCCS responded by setting an impurity limit and urging manufacturers to minimize contamination. It is a case of tightening manufacturing standards rather than reacting to the filter being inherently risky.
r/AsianBeauty: 'I love DHHB sunscreens, should I be worried about phthalate contamination now?'