The wait for effective sunscreen solutions is nearly over.

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On TikTok, a trend has emerged where young influencers are sharing reasons for ditching sunscreen. In one clip, a guy splashes around in the ocean, claiming you can develop a “solar callus” to build sun tolerance. (Spoiler: you can’t.) Another video features a woman asserting that consuming foods rich in polyphenols and antioxidants will boost your skin’s resilience against sunburn. (While antioxidants combat free radical damage, they can’t replace sunscreen.) She also vilifies sunscreens with “hard-to-pronounce chemicals” and promotes “all-natural” mineral options and even… beef tallow. (Yes, some are actually trying to make sunscreens with beef tallow, despite dermatologists warning about the lack of scientific backing.) Many anti-sunscreen advocates argue that our ancestors didn’t worry about sun protection (they did) and question how something natural could be harmful. (Natural sunlight causes sunburns and skin cancer.)

The anti-sunscreen sentiment has gained traction, but hopefully, that’s about to shift.

I’m a different kind of sunscreen advocate. Last week at WWDC, I found myself chasing after my paler colleagues as the sun began to shine over Apple Park. Did you apply sunscreen? If anyone said no — and many did — I’d shake my head and pull out a tube of Round Lab Birch Juice Moisturizing Sun Cream. I’d ask them to hold out three fingers and dispense three perfect lines of Korea’s top SPF technology onto their hands. Some were thankful, while most braced for something greasy, hard to rub in, and likely to sting their eyes.

Everyone was surprised when this sunscreen turned out to be none of those things.

For the past 26 years, American sunscreens have lagged behind those available globally. We’ve been stuck with white casts, sticky textures, and that unpleasant chemical smell, applying barely enough to meet the labeled SPF protection. (You actually need a quarter teaspoon just for your face!) Meanwhile, Asia, Australia, and Europe have enjoyed elegant formulations that not only feel better but also provide superior skin protection. This has led many Americans to avoid sunscreen like it’s the Matrix, even though skin cancer is the most prevalent cancer in the US.

But there’s finally some good news. The FDA has approved a new chemical sunscreen filter for the first time since 1999, meaning better sunscreens are on the horizon.

The new filter, bemotrizinol (also known as Tinosorb S or BEMT), is exciting for cosmetic chemists in the US because it offers broad-spectrum protection against both UVA and UVB rays, is more photostable, can stabilize other sunscreen filters, and is less likely to be absorbed into the bloodstream due to its larger molecular size. This is significant for several reasons, especially as it could help counter the anti-sunscreen movement.

Concerns about chemical sunscreens surged in 2019 and 2021 when the FDA updated regulations and requested more safety data for certain filters. Researchers found that older chemical filters were absorbed into the bloodstream, while mineral sunscreens like zinc and titanium dioxide were classified as GRASE — generally recognized as safe and effective. (For the record, BEMT is also GRASE.)

This reinforced the idea that mineral sunscreens are better than chemical ones, which are often labeled as “bad for your health.” In reality, the FDA was just asking for more data. Both mineral and chemical sunscreens protect your skin by absorbing UV rays and converting them into heat. The difference is that mineral sunscreens also reflect some UV rays and sit on the skin’s surface, while chemical filters are absorbed.

Interestingly, anti-sunscreen videos are a minority on social media. A study from the University of Alberta analyzed nearly 1,000 TikTok videos across the top five sunscreen-related hashtags; 87 percent promoted sunscreen use. Unfortunately, the 6 percent of videos spreading misinformation — like claims that sunscreen causes cancer — garnered much higher engagement.

This has real-world implications. Reports indicate that teens are returning to tanning beds and checking UV indexes not to avoid sun exposure, but to seek it out. A survey by the American Academy of Dermatology Association revealed that about half of Americans scored a C or lower on sun safety knowledge, with a third of Gen Z scoring a D or F. The survey also found that 29 percent of US adults believe a tan is acceptable as long as you don’t burn. It doesn’t help that a recent proposal to ban tanning beds for minors was withdrawn, reflecting a broader trend of promoting tanning.

But the truth remains: there’s no such thing as a “safe” tan — any tan indicates skin damage. This brings us back to why BEMT is a significant development.

Firstly, BEMT is easier to formulate, effective in lower concentrations, and a key ingredient in many international sunscreens. In contrast, US sunscreens have historically struggled with UVA protection. UVA rays penetrate deeper into the skin, causing tanning, aging, and contributing to long-term skin cancer, while UVB rays cause sunburns and can lead to DNA mutations. A 2017 study found that only 11 out of 20 US sunscreens met Europe’s higher standards for UVA protection. Additionally, US sunscreens have relied on avobenzone for UVA protection, which is known for its instability in sunlight, degrading quickly and requiring mixing with other filters that it can destabilize.

You might wonder why the US has lagged behind when better options are available. A significant factor is that the US regulates sunscreen as an over-the-counter drug, while most other countries treat it as a cosmetic. (Australia is an exception, but its process is much more streamlined than the FDA’s.) This means any new sunscreen filter must undergo rigorous and costly testing. From a business standpoint, many cosmetics companies have deemed the regulatory burden not worth the investment to retest products already proven safe by international regulators.

Optimizer readers know that FDA clearance for wearables is a challenge, and the process for drugs is even more complex. DSM-Firmenich, a health and beauty multinational, initially applied for BEMT approval in 2005, but it languished in regulatory limbo. The CARES Act in 2020 helped streamline the over-the-counter approval process, allowing DSM-Firmenich to restart the process in late 2024. Throughout this journey, the company has likely spent over $20 million on testing and development. While this means BEMT is a thoroughly studied sunscreen filter, it’s taken 26 years and millions of dollars, despite ample research proving its safety and efficacy.

Another consequence of the FDA’s lengthy approval process is the emergence of a gray market for “the good stuff.”

One option is to ask friends traveling abroad to bring back superior sunscreens — something I do every year when family members visit Korea. However, a murkier area involves export sites for international cosmetics. For a long time, authorities overlooked various Korean, Japanese, and European brands selling their superior sunscreens on platforms like TikTok Shop.

In the past couple of years, though, the FDA and Customs and Border Protection have intensified enforcement of OTC sunscreen compliance under the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act. Sunscreen enthusiasts have noticed their favorite products disappearing. Popular brands like Beauty of Joseon and Round Lab have had to reformulate less effective versions for the US market, leading to frustration among fans seeking original formulations or wondering why their imports were suddenly seized at customs.

The FDA’s approval of BEMT doesn’t resolve all these issues immediately. For one, we likely won’t see new sunscreen formulations until August or September — after peak vacation season. Additionally, this is just one new filter. Korea, Japan, and Europe have access to around 34 filters, while the US now has only 16. So while we’ll see improvements in US sunscreens, they still won’t match the advancements found abroad. Nonetheless, progress is progress. There’s hope for continued improvement thanks to the recently passed SAFE Sunscreen Standards Act, which streamlines the filter approval process and mandates the FDA to evaluate filters already in use in other countries.

With summer approaching, don’t buy into the TikTok tanning hype! This is the last summer you’ll have to deal with subpar sunscreens, so use up your remaining bottles with enthusiasm! Maybe by this time next year, I won’t have to chase down tech journalists at I/O and WWDC, brandishing tubes of Korean sunscreen.