<!-- Cinoxate: is it reef safe? Where it's banned | Reef Label -->
Source: https://reeflabel.com/ingredients/cinoxate/

Chemical (organic) UV filter · Reef research: Limited data

# Cinoxate

A cinnamate UVB filter that is essentially no longer used.

Banned in

-   Palau

Also excluded where only mineral sunscreen is allowed

-   Maui County
-   Hawaiʻi County

## Where it’s restricted

Named in the law or guidance

| Location | Status | Since |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Palau](https://reeflabel.com/locations/palau/) [law text ↗](https://www.palaugov.pw/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/RPPL-No.-10-30-re.-The-Responsible-Tourism-Education-Act-of-2018.pdf) | In force | January 1, 2020 |

### Also not allowed under mineral-only rules

Cinoxate isn’t named in these laws, but they allow only mineral (zinc oxide or titanium dioxide) sunscreens, so a product containing it is excluded anyway.

-   [Maui County (Maui, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi)](https://reeflabel.com/locations/maui-county/) (in force since October 1, 2022)
-   [Hawaiʻi County (Big Island)](https://reeflabel.com/locations/hawaii-county/) (in force since December 1, 2022)

## Why it’s regulated

FDA's 2021 proposed order (OTC000008), which restates its 2019 proposal, does not treat cinoxate as generally recognized as safe and effective (GRASE) because more data are needed, and FDA says this is not a conclusion that cinoxate is unsafe. The EU allows only UV filters listed in Annex VI of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, and cinoxate is not on that list.

## What the reef research says

Limited data.

-   [FDA: Questions and answers on FDA's regulatory actions on over-the-counter sunscreen](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/understanding-over-counter-medicines/questions-and-answers-fdas-regulatory-actions-over-counter-sunscreen)
-   [Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 on cosmetic products, consolidated text of 1 May 2025 (EU Publications Office)](https://publications.europa.eu/resource/cellar/bb517d56-2a9c-11f0-8a44-01aa75ed71a1.0007.02/DOC_1)
-   [21 CFR 352.10, Sunscreen active ingredients (eCFR; ensulizole, meradimate, octinoxate and octisalate appear under their revised names in the stayed 2002 amendment)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/section-352.10)

**Related ingredients:** [Octinoxate](https://reeflabel.com/ingredients/octinoxate/), [Amiloxate (IMC)](https://reeflabel.com/ingredients/amiloxate/), [Oxybenzone](https://reeflabel.com/ingredients/oxybenzone/)

Last reviewed October 14, 2026.

### Label names we match

-   cinoxate

### Regulatory status

**Wikidata:** [Q2319112](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2319112)

**US FDA:** Insufficient data: not GRASE under FDA's 2019 proposal, restated in its 2021 proposed order (OTC000008), until more safety data are submitted. Still a proposal as of September 2026. Max 3% in the US.

**EU:** Not approved.

**Protects against:** UVB.