Why Europe Reopened the Titanium Dioxide File in September 2025
Titanium dioxide is the backbone of mineral sunscreen — here's why the EU is taking another hard look at it in 2025 and what it could (and couldn't) mean for your SPF.
On 14 September 2025 the SCCS accepted, by written procedure, a new European Commission mandate to re-evaluate the safety of titanium dioxide in cosmetics. Nano-TiO2 is currently allowed as a UV filter up to 25% but is prohibited in sprayable products that could be inhaled, reflecting its Category 2 carcinogen classification by the inhalation route.
Cosmetic regulators emphasize that the inhalation-route concern that drove the carcinogen classification is distinct from topical use on intact skin, and the SCCS review is framed as a precautionary re-examination of existing data rather than evidence of new risk.
Questions we get a lot
Does the 2025 EU review mean mineral sunscreen is unsafe?
No. The SCCS accepting a mandate to re-evaluate titanium dioxide is a precautionary safety review of existing evidence, not a finding of harm or a ban. Nano-TiO2 remains an approved UV filter in the EU up to 25%. The main flagged concern relates to inhalation, not topical application to skin.
Why is nano titanium dioxide banned in some sprays?
Nano-TiO2 carries a Category 2 carcinogen classification by the inhalation route, so it is barred from cosmetic products that can be sprayed and inhaled, such as aerosol formats. In leave-on creams and lotions applied to the skin, it remains permitted as a UV filter up to 25%.
r/30PlusSkinCare: 'Is my zinc-and-titanium mineral sunscreen suddenly unsafe now that the EU is reviewing titanium dioxide again?'