This Finish Line Marks the Start…

The long-awaited announcement from US FDA that bemotrizinol (BEMT) was approved as GRASE for sunscreens arrived with much fanfare last month. And rightfully so. It may not have taken as long as the New York Knicks did to win their second NBA Championship—but it was quite a dry spell for sunscreen chemists in the US. 

The process took more than two decades of scientific work, advocacy and persistence from dedicated stakeholders. And yet, getting BEMT across this regulatory finish line is just the starting point. The baton has been handed over to chemists in the lab who will move the category forward with better sunscreens for even more American consumers. 

For formulators, BEMT delivers broad-spectrum coverage, exceptional photostability and compatibility that will open the door to lighter, more wearable and more efficacious products. For dermatologists, it means products that go further in terms of encouraging daily use IRL—and that’s critical in the fight against skin cancer. 

While I have come across a few who have been measured in their enthusiasm, the broad consensus is this: an expanded UV filter palette is a win for the industry and, ultimately, for people who need sunscreens (all of us). What’s more, some see bemotrizinol’s approval as a signal that more approvals may follow—let’s just hope it doesn’t take as long.

What’s Inside This Issue

Inside this issue of Happi you will find category coverage where UV is expanding at a rapid pace: facial cosmetics. And we also have an industry roundtable interview with experts in preservation—where the right mix is mission critical for product safety.

And it is time for Happi’s Top 50 Report, our annual look at the leading companies in beauty, personal care and household and industrial cleaning that are headquartered in the US. The companies on our list are ranked by their reported or estimated annual sales in 2025 or their most recently completed fiscal year.

Have a comment or question? Send me an email. Let’s talk.

Christine Esposito
Editor-in-Chief

[email protected]