FDA Approves First New Sunscreen Ingredient in 20+ Years — What Dermatologists Want You to Know

This sunscreen contains an ingredient that until last week you could not legally buy in the United States, and I have been fighting literally on Capitol Hill to change that for years. The FDA just approved bismuth trizanol. It's the first new sunscreen active ingredient approved in this country in more than 20 years, and today I'm going to tell you exactly what it is, why it matters, and what it means for your skin. Hi, I'm Dr. Jane Yoo. I'm a board-certified dermatologist and a mohs surgeon, as well as a clinical assistant I'm Jane Yoo, a dermatologist and professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. I've been practicing in Midtown Manhattan, and sunscreen science has been one of my deepest clinical interests for a very long time. If you've heard me talk about K-beauty sunscreens or wonder why the sunscreens people use in Korea and Japan and France seem so much lighter, more elegant, more than what we have here, a big part of that answer is UV filters. The filters available in the United States have been limited for decades. Bimotrizanol, you'll see it abbreviated as B.E.M.T., and it's also sold under the trade name ParsolShield, made by DSM, is a UV filter. That's the active ingredient in a sunscreen that actually does the work of absorbing ultraviolet radiation before it can damage your skin. Now, B.E.M.T. is not new to the world. It has been used in sunscreens in Europe, Australia, and across Asia for decades. Hundreds of millions of people have used it. The science on it is robust and deep. So what's new now is that it's FDA approved for the use of sunscreen sold in the United States. That means U.S. brands can now legally formulate with it, and that's a very big deal. Before I tell you what makes B.E.M.T. special, I need to make sure that we're on the same page about UV radiation, because this is where most patients get confused. UV radiation comes from the sun in two main flavors that reach us here on Earth: UVB and UVA. UVB is a wavelength that causes sunburn. It's the burn ray. SPF, the number you've been looking at your whole life, measures UVB protection only. That's it. UVA is a longer wavelength. It doesn't cause sunburn, but it penetrates more deeply into the skin, in the dermis where your collagen lives. UVA is responsible for photoaging, the wrinkles, laxity, the uneven tone, the brown spots. UVA also contributes to melanoma and suppresses your immune system's ability to catch abnormal cells early. And here's the thing that most people don't realize. UVA makes up about 95% of the UV radiation reaching the Earth's surface, and it doesn't fluctuate with season or time or the day the way UVB does. It comes through on cloudy days. It comes through windows. So when patients come to me focused entirely on SPF, I tell them the SPF tells you about sunburn protection. It tells you almost nothing about your aging and DNA damage protection. And this is why B.E.M.T. matters. Bemotrizole is a broad spectrum UV filter, meaning that it absorbs both UVB and UVA. But what sets it apart is the UVA side of the equation. It has exceptional coverage across UVA 1. That's the longest wavelength UVA, the deepest penetrating range, the range most responsible for collagen breakdown and photoaging. Most UV filters approved in the US have a weak spot right there in UVA 1. BMT is also photostable. That means it doesn't degrade when it's exposed to sunlight. This is a real limitation of some currently available UV filters. Avobenzone, the main UVA workaround we've had in the United States, breaks down in UV light, which is why it's always paired with stabilizers in formulations. BMT doesn't have that problem. BMT actually helps stabilize other UV filters in a formulation. So when it's combined with other actives, it makes the whole sunscreen more stable and more effective over time. And this one really matters for adherence. It has excellent cosmetic properties. It tends to go on clear, blend easily, and not feel heavy on the skin. And I have to say this to every patient that I have: the best sunscreen is the one that you'll actually wear. Cosmetic elegance is a clinical issue. Texture and finish drive real-world usage. I know what you're thinking. If this ingredient is so good and it's been used safely for decades everywhere else, why did it take until 2026 to get approved in the United States? The honest answer is regulatory inertia. The FDA's pathway for reviewing new sunscreen active ingredients was not built for speed. The science on BMT was never the problem. The ingredient has a decades-long safety record and a massive body of evidence behind it. The barrier was procedural. That's why organizations like the Skin Cancer Foundation and PCPC, or the Personal Care Products Council have been pushing Congress to modernize the sunscreen regulatory framework through the Safe Sunscreen Standards Act. I had the opportunity to be part of advocacy days on Capitol Hill, meeting with Senate and House representatives to make the case that the US needs to catch up. We have a lot to owe Karl Deruz at DSM for this, as he was the mastermind behind pushing things through the FDA. This approval is a direct result of that sustained effort. And I want to be clear, This isn't just about having more options on the shelf. It's about the quality of photoprotection available to American consumers. We have been behind, and now only are we starting to catch up. So who should be paying the most attention to this approval? Let me walk you through a few patient populations I'm particularly thinking about. Melasma patients. If you have melasma, you know how frustrating it can be. UVA, and especially UVA 1, is a major trigger. The deeper UVA 1 coverage that BMT provides is directly relevant to preventing flares and protecting your results from treatment. This is a meaningful development for you. Skin cancer patients and survivors. If you had melanoma, basal cell, or squamous cell carcinoma, or you're immunocompromised, an organ transplant recipient, for example, rigorous daily photoprotection isn't optional, it's medical. Having access to effective broad-spectrum options matter enormously. Patients with skin of color. This is a group I think often about. Sunscreen use has historically been lower in patients with darker skin tones, and part of that is a white cast problem with mineral sunscreens and the perception that it doesn't apply to them. Both of those are wrong, and both of them cost lives. Better formulated sunscreens that go on clear and feel good on a range of skin tones can generally improve adherence in a population that carries a disproportionate disproportionate burden of late-stage skin cancer diagnoses. Photodermatosis patients: if you have polymorphous light eruption, lupus-related photosensitivity, or other light-triggered concerns, you need the broadest spectrum protection possible. BMT closes real gaps. Now, what does this mean for you today, right now, shopping for sunscreen? The honest answer is formulated products with bismuth trisinal are not yet widely available at your local drugstore. FDA approval is a first step. Brands now need to formulate with it, test their finished products, and get them to market. And that takes time. But it is coming. What I have here is a sunscreen formulated with BMT. This is from DSM, the company behind ParcelShield. This is what we're talking about. You can see how it applies. Look how easily it blends in. No white cast, lightweight. This is the kind of cosmetic elegance that makes people actually wear their sunscreen. Watch that it absorbs. This is what the next generation of US sunscreens can look like. In the meantime, here are 3 things to look for on any sunscreen label regardless of what's in it. 1. SPF 30 or higher and actually apply enough. Most people use a quarter of what they need. A teaspoon for your face and neck, a full shot glass for your body. 2. Broad spectrum. Those words on the label have regulatory meaning. They mean the product meets the FDA's standards for protection. Don't buy a sunscreen without them. 3. A formula you'll use every single day. Consistency beats perfection. If you love a tinted moisturizer with SPF, a serum-texture sunscreen, a mineral stick for reapplication, Use that. The sunscreen you wear every day is infinitely better than the best one sitting in your cabinet. The BEMT approval is significant not for just what it is, but what it signals. It shows that the regulatory pathway works and that industry and advocacy together can move it forward. What I'd like to see next is more filters approved, particularly those with strong visible light and high energy visible protection. That's the next frontier in photoprotection science. We know that HEV light, blue light, contributes to hyperpigmentation and darker skin tones, and the formulation tools to address it are still limited in the U.S. I'd also like to see the Safe Sunscreen Standards Act move forward and modernize the review process so we're not waiting another 20 years for the next generations of filters. If you have questions about sunscreen, photoprotection, or what this approval means for your specific skin concerns, drop them in the comments. I want to read them. If you want to go deeper on sunscreen science, UV filters, or K-beauty ingredients, I have a lot more where this came from. Subscribe and hit the bell so you don't miss it. Protect your skin. I'll see you next time.