The UV filter 4-Methylbenzylidene Camphor, known as 4-MBC or enzacamene, is prohibited in cosmetic products placed on the Great Britain market from 15 July 2026. The ban was introduced by SI 2026/23, laid before Parliament on 15 January 2026, which removed 4-MBC from Annex VI of the UK Cosmetics Regulation, the list of permitted UV filters, and added it to Annex II, the list of prohibited substances. Products placed on the market before 15 July 2026 may continue to be made available until 14 January 2027. After that date, any non-compliant product must be withdrawn.
For sun care brands and any product using 4-MBC as a UV filter component, the compliance question is immediate. The placing-on-market deadline is the operative one: any product manufactured and entering the supply chain after 15 July 2026 must not contain 4-MBC. The sell-through window to January 2027 applies only to stock already placed on the market before the cut-off, not to ongoing production.
What Brands Must Do Now
Three actions are required before 15 July 2026 for any brand whose products contain 4-MBC.
Formulation review comes first. Every product in the portfolio must be checked against its ingredient specification to confirm whether 4-MBC is present as a UV filter. Sun creams, sun sprays, tinted moisturisers with SPF, lip balms with UV protection, and daily moisturisers with sun protection factor are the categories most likely to be affected. Brands sourcing finished formulations from contract manufacturers need confirmation from those manufacturers on which products are in scope.
Reformulation follows for any in-scope product the brand intends to continue selling after January 2027. Replacing 4-MBC with a permitted UV filter alternative requires safety assessment, Product Information File updates, and confirmation from the UK Responsible Person that the reformulated product meets the GB Cosmetics Regulation in full. The Cosmetic Product Safety Report must be updated to reflect the new formulation.
Label update is the third action. Once a product is reformulated, the ingredient list on the label must reflect the new formulation. 4-MBC appears in INCI nomenclature as “Enzacamene,” so any label currently showing that ingredient name must be updated before the reformulated product is placed on the market. The SCPN notification must also be updated to reflect the reformulation before products are placed on the GB market.
The Label Dimension
For brands managing multiple SKUs across sun care ranges, the label update requirement creates a production management challenge. Artwork files must be revised, reformulation-specific INCI lists verified, and print runs scheduled so that non-compliant packaging does not enter the supply chain after 15 July 2026. Where labels are printed in long runs with significant lead times, the reformulation and label update timeline needs to begin now. Running compliant and non-compliant packaging simultaneously in the supply chain without robust stock segregation is how misrouting errors occur, and a non-compliant product reaching market after the cut-off date is an enforcement risk regardless of intent.