For centuries, the sun was avoided by the upper classes, considered a marker of lower social status. However, the rise of paid holidays at the end of the 19th century marked a turning point, valorising tanned skin, a trend promoted by Gabrielle Chanel and encouraged by the growth of seaside vacations [1] [2].
At the heart of numerous controversies throughout the summer, UV filters are cosmetic ingredients that are particularly challenged. So much so that the need to develop new molecules is on everyone’s mind. However, developing a new UV filter is already a complex process, to which must be added the regulatory steps required to authorise its future use in Europe. UV filters are not cosmetic ingredients like any others: their use in cosmetic formulations is governed by a very specific regulatory framework. Before protecting consumers from the sun, they must successfully pass all the steps required to demonstrate their safety of use, and also show a clean environmental profile from an ecotoxicological point of view.
