Is Homosalate safe in skincare?

What it is

Homosalate is a chemical UV filter that absorbs UVB light and is very common in sunscreens, often working alongside other filters. It is effective and widely used across sun-care products.

What the sources say

The EU restricted homosalate to lower concentrations over possible endocrine activity, following an SCCS review — a 'permitted within limits' caution rather than a ban. It remains an approved filter within those limits.

Hazard vs. real-world risk

As with other filters, this is a trade-off ingredient: the proven benefit of sun protection weighs against a precautionary concentration limit. The EU chose to cap the level, not remove it. Mineral filters are alternatives for those who prefer them.

Vegan & cruelty-free angle

Synthetic and typically vegan.

Three pillars, kept separate

Clarra reads three distinct things and refuses to blend them into one misleading score: what a product's ingredient list flags, whether the brand is cruelty-free, and whether the formula is vegan. Keeping them separate matters — a product can be vegan but worth checking on testing policy, or cruelty-free but not vegan. One number would hide all of that; three clear pillars don't.

What Clarra reads on every product

• Ingredient flags — how named regulators (EU CosIng, IARC, Prop 65, CIR, ECHA) classify or restrict what's inside, with hazard kept separate from risk.
• Cruelty-free status — shown with positive framing: what a brand states or is certified for, never an accusation.
• Vegan status — flagging animal-derived ingredients like carmine, beeswax and lanolin, and honest about ambiguous-source ones.