[Misc] The reason why hydroquinone is no longer sold OTC in the states might give you new sunscreen filters within the next few years.

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This was posted a couple of months ago without much a-do on this sub but given hydroquinone no longer being sold OTC it deserves to be brought up again.For those unaware or are slowly becoming aware, hydroquinone is no longer OTC in the states due to the reason of the CARES act. Yes, the coronavirus stimulus package is why it's no longer sold over the counter. Without going into too much detail, the package included wording that gives the FDA the ability to update the outdated over-the-counter drug approval system. Since sunscreen is seen as a drug by the FDA, it has to each be individually approved in the states. In the simplest terms, it makes their approval process for approving OTC drugs more streamlined whilst maintaining the safety testing required for OTC drug approval. (dr dray has a whole video explaining in more detail here.)How this pertains to sunscreens is that there is a sunscreen monograph or a guidebook of sunscreen regulation that the FDA has. Back in 2019, there was anticipation for it being updated to little avail. As of writing this, the new monograph will be officially released as of September of this year (2021) and with how quickly hydroquinone was taken off the OTC market it seems like there's a high likelihood that at the very least the longer-standing next-generation UV chemical filters will be given the green light within the new monograph. I find it personally likely at least the Tinosorb and perhaps Uvinal based filters will be given the green light given how long-standing they've been used but that's just my own guess.​Regardless, keep an eye out in September for the FDA sunscreen monograph, as it's inevitable that there will be at least some sort of new regulation whether it's new ingredient approval or sunscreen formulation guidelines. If new sunscreen filters are approved it will likely take about a year or so for them to be fully brought into the US market.​TL;DR: Some sort of sunscreen guideline changes will likely be happening at least in the states so be on the lookout for sunscreen news coming this September if you're in the US!
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