Sunscreens are indispensable allies against UV rays, but some hide a problem that few people know about. Inside them there may be a substance banned in European cosmetics since 2019: DnHexP, a phthalate classified as toxic for reproduction.
This is not an intentionally added ingredient, but a residue that forms during the production of an increasingly popular UV filter. Checks conducted in Germany show that the situation is improving, but not enough: in 2025, one product in 5 of those tested still contains it.
It all started a few years ago, when cosmetics manufacturers found themselves having to abandon octocrylene en masse, a very widespread UV filter that ended up in the spotlight because it was potentially capable of generating benzophenone, a substance classified as a possible carcinogen. The alternative solution chosen by a large part of the market was a UVA filter with a rather complicated name, diethylaminohydroxybenzoylhexyl benzoate, better known by the acronym DHHB.
DHHB itself is not dangerous. The problem arises during its production: in that process, di-n-hexyl phthalate, or DnHexP, can be formed as an unwanted by-product, a toxic phthalate banned in European cosmetics since 2019. When in 2024 a biomonitoring study found the metabolite derived from this substance in the urine of ordinary people, the issue became urgent.
The results of the checks by the German authorities
The CVUA of Karlsruhe analyzed 263 products between 2024 and 2025. In the last year alone it analyzed 143 sun creams (of which brands and details are unknown) and cosmetics with UV protection containing the DHHB filter, now present in around three quarters of all sun products examined.
The results show a clear trend: while in samples from 2023 and earlier, measurable traces of DnHexP were present in 52% of the products, by 2024 that share had dropped to 38%, and by 2025 it had dropped further to 20%.
Not only is the percentage reduced, but the concentrations are also decreasing: the median quantity detected in “positive” products went from 3.8 mg/kg in 2023 to 2.7 mg/kg in 2025. Good steps forward, in short, even if 1 in 5 products was still contaminated.
Another reassuring fact should also be noted: MnHexP, the metabolite that had been found in human urine, was not identified in any of the products tested in 2025.
One of the most interesting discoveries concerns the distribution of contamination between the different product categories. In 2024, children’s specific sunscreens seemed more virtuous than average. In 2025, however, the percentage of products with DnHexP will be around 20% in all categories: creams for adults, sprays and products for children are essentially at the same level.
On the one hand this means that progress has been generalized. On the other hand, it shows us that buying a product “for children” does not automatically guarantee the absence of the problem.
Another element that emerged from the investigation concerns the relationship between the quantity of DHHB present in the product and the presence of DnHexP. The researchers expected a simple correlation: the more filter, the more chance of contamination. However, the reality turned out to be a little different. Even products with very high percentages of DHHB, between 8 and 10%, were completely free of DnHexP. And vice versa.
The conclusion is that it is not the quantity of filter that makes the difference, but the quality of the raw material used. Some DHHB suppliers are already able to produce an ingredient practically free of phthalates; others don’t. The choice lies with cosmetic manufacturers, who have the responsibility to select the safest sources.
What the law says (and what will change in 2027)
The European Cosmetics Regulation prohibits the intentional use of DnHexP. However, it contains an important clause: if a banned substance is present as a technically unavoidable impurity and the product is otherwise safe, it can remain on the market. It is the “responsible person”, whether a manufacturer, importer or distributor based in Europe, who must demonstrate that the level found is truly unavoidable and does not constitute a risk.
The current gap is that there is not yet a precise numerical limit. The SCCS, the European Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety, has meanwhile re-evaluated the situation, and the European Union aims to introduce a specific maximum threshold for DnHexP in the DHHB filter by 2027. An expected and necessary step to make controls clearer and more uniform.
What to do in the meantime
The CVUA of Karlsruhe advises those who still have sunscreens purchased in 2024 at home to replace them. Newer products, especially those from 2025, have lower contamination levels on average.
On the sun prevention front, however, the experts’ message is unanimous and does not change: protecting the skin from UV rays remains fundamental. The sun is the main cause of skin cancer, and the risk is not faced by giving up sunscreen, but by choosing the safest one possible.
