Avobenzone is not banned by Hawaii state law: the statewide statute, HRS §342D-21, restricts selling sunscreen that contains oxybenzone or octinoxate, and SB132 and HB102, the 2021 bills that would have added avobenzone and octocrylene, were never enacted.
Two counties do reach it: Maui County prohibits selling or using any sunscreen with an active ingredient other than zinc oxide or titanium dioxide unless it is prescribed, and Hawaiʻi County prohibits selling one.
A statute, bills that died, and two county rules are often read as one statewide ban on a long list of ingredients. Read separately, they say quite different things, and the answer depends on the island.
This page covers the avobenzone and octocrylene question and the bills behind it, quoted from the record. It keeps selling and using apart, because the rules do. Where we could not read an instrument, we say so.
Is avobenzone banned in Hawaii?
Not statewide, and octocrylene isn't either. Hawaii's sunscreen law, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) §342D-21, names two filters, oxybenzone and octinoxate, and neither avobenzone nor octocrylene is one of them:
Beginning January 1, 2021, it shall be unlawful to sell, offer for sale, or distribute for sale in the State any sunscreen that contains oxybenzone or octinoxate, or both, without a prescription issued by a licensed healthcare provider.
Hawaii State Legislature · read word for word on It reaches selling, offering for sale and distributing for sale, and names two filters.
Two dates are easy to mix up. Act 104 of 2018, which created the section, took effect in July 2018; the ban itself began on 1 January 2021, the date written into subsection (a).
The section says more than this: its definition of "sunscreen" leaves out products marketed or intended for use as a cosmetic for the face. Our page on the full text of Hawaii's sunscreen statute sets it out in full.
Can I use a sunscreen with avobenzone in Hawaii?
It depends on the island. In Maui County, no: the county rule covers applying it, not just selling it. On Hawaiʻi Island the county rule stops at selling it, and on Oʻahu and Kauaʻi the state statute does not name it.
| Place | Using | Selling | Filters reached | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maui County | Prohibited without a prescription | Prohibited without a prescription | Every active ingredient other than zinc oxide and titanium dioxide | Maui County Code ch. 20.42 |
| Hawaiʻi County (the Big Island) | Not covered | Prohibited without a prescription | Every active ingredient other than zinc oxide and titanium dioxide | Department of Environmental Management Rule 2-12 |
| Oʻahu and Kauaʻi | Not covered by the statute | Prohibited without a prescription, if it contains oxybenzone or octinoxate | Oxybenzone and octinoxate | HRS §342D-21 (statewide) |
For Oʻahu and Kauaʻi the row is the state statute alone; we cite no county rule there, so confirm with the county. The statewide statute also applies in Maui County and on Hawaiʻi Island, alongside the county rules.
None of the rules on this page sets up a list of approved sunscreens. Every rule on this page tests the same thing: the active-ingredients line on the Drug Facts panel. That line is the one to read.
What did SB132 propose?
SB132 proposed a statewide ban on selling sunscreen containing avobenzone or octocrylene "Beginning January 1, 2023", and that is where the widely repeated 2023 date comes from.
It was introduced in the 2021 session by Senators Kanuha and Gabbard, with Senators Baker and Shimabukuro. Bill drafts are numbered: SD2 is the Senate's second draft, HD1 the House's first. The draft the Senate passed, SD2, read:
A bill that never became law. SB132 SD2 passed the Senate on Third Reading on 9 March 2021, Ayes 25, Noes 0, with reservations from Senators Chang and Nishihara.
Beginning January 1, 2023, it shall be unlawful to sell, offer for sale, or distribute for sale in the State any sunscreen that contains avobenzone or octocrylene without a prescription issued by a licensed healthcare provider.
Hawaii State Legislature · read word for word on Proposed text. This sentence was never enacted, and it is often quoted as though it were current law.
The same policy was filed as HB102 in the House, by Representative Tarnas and others, and as SB366 in the Senate, by Senator Gabbard and others. HB102's summary opens with the same words: "Beginning January 1, 2023".
Two features of that wording explain a great deal of what followed. It names a date, and it is written in the present tense of a rule already in force. Quoted on its own, without the words "proposed" or "would have", it reads exactly like a statute.
What happened to SB132?
It passed the Senate 25–0, then stopped in the House. There it was referred in turn to the Committees on Energy & Environmental Protection, Consumer Protection & Commerce, and Finance. It cleared the first and went no further. The record, step by step:
Senate Committee on Agriculture and Environment votes to pass it, with amendments
Its report, Standing Committee Report No. 464 (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 464), is reported out on 19 February.
Senate Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection votes to pass it, with amendments
Its report, Stand. Com. Rep. No. 639, is reported out on 4 March.
Passes the Senate’s final vote (Third Reading), 25–0
The version it passed, SD2, would have taken effect on approval.
House Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection votes to pass it, with amendments
Its report, Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1009, reported out on 18 March, turns the bill into its first House draft, SB132 HD1, and moves the effective date to 1 July 2050.
Reported out; passes a House floor vote (Second Reading) and goes to Consumer Protection & Commerce
One representative voted no. The bill’s record shows no hearing by Consumer Protection & Commerce.
Carried over to the 2022 session
Hawaii’s legislature sits in two-year terms, so an unfinished bill carries over to the second year.
No further action. The bill dies with the session.
The companion bills went no further. On 17 February 2021, the House Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce deferred HB102, setting it aside without a vote to advance it. SB366 was referred to committee on 25 January 2021 and never heard. Both carried over to 2022 with no further action.
Why does SB132 say July 1, 2050?
Because the House committee moved the date to 1 July 2050, twenty-nine years ahead, and wrote its reason down:
A standing committee report — the committee’s own account of what it changed and why. Not law, and not the bill text.
Your Committee has amended this measure by: (1) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and (2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.
Hawaii State Legislature, House of Representatives · read word for word on Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1009, Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection; reported 18 March 2021.
The drafts, side by side:
| Draft | Its effective-date section says | Became law? |
|---|---|---|
| SB132 SD2, as passed by the Senate | Takes effect on approval | No |
| SB132 HD1, as amended in the House | Takes effect on 1 July 2050 | No |
| HB102 HD1, the House companion | Takes effect on 1 July 2050 | No |
Neither bill became law, so neither date ever operated.
Did Hawaii ban avobenzone or octocrylene in 2026?
No: none of the 2026 bill drafts that mention sunscreen would have added either filter. We searched the text of the bill drafts the Legislature published for the 2026 session.
So the picture is unchanged: no state ban on avobenzone or octocrylene, and the Maui County and Hawaiʻi County rules set out below.
Apart from two passing mentions, the drafts that mention sunscreen fall into two groups:
- Beach sunscreen dispensers. SB2426 (2026), and SB840, carried over from 2025, would have funded sunscreen dispensers at state beaches.
- Health care providers. HB1857 and SB2491 would have added physician assistants to the health care providers who can issue a prescription under §342D-21. Each passed Second Reading in its own chamber in February 2026 and was referred to further committees; nothing is recorded after that.
The Legislature's own online copy of §342D-21 still lists only the 2018 Act as its source and records no amendment.
What do the Maui County and Hawaiʻi County rules say?
Both define the restricted category by active ingredient, as everything other than zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, and only Maui's reaches use. That is a different test from the state statute, which names two chemicals.
The state statute barred counties from enacting an ordinance or regulatory restriction prohibiting the sale or use of sunscreens containing oxybenzone or octinoxate "prior to January 1, 2021".
Maui's ordinance passed first reading on 5 November 2021 and took effect on 1 October 2022, and the Hawaiʻi County rule cited here is in the county's rules as revised on 15 July 2024.
Maui County. Ordinance 5306 created Chapter 20.42 of the Maui County Code, effective 1 October 2022. Section 20.42.030 defines a "non-mineral sunscreen" as any sunscreen that uses an active ingredient other than zinc oxide and titanium dioxide.
It adopts §342D-21's definition of "sunscreen", which leaves out products marketed or intended for use as a cosmetic for the face. Subsection A prohibits selling one without a prescription; subsection C goes further:
Any non-mineral sunscreen must not be used or applied by any person, unless the sunscreen is from a prescription issued by a licensed healthcare provider.
County of Maui · read word for word on Subsection C. The state statute and Hawaiʻi County's rule stop at selling, offering and distributing for sale; this one reaches using or applying a non-mineral sunscreen without a prescription.
Our page on Maui County's mineral-only rule covers the ordinance in more detail.
Hawaiʻi County. Its rule is Rule 2-12 of the County of Hawaiʻi Department of Environmental Management's Rules of Practice and Procedure (revised 15 July 2024).
It prohibits selling, offering for sale or distributing for sale a non-mineral sunscreen without a prescription. It does not reach use. It uses the same definition as Maui County and borrows the state statute's other definitions.
Anyone deciding what to stock on Hawaiʻi Island should confirm the current text with the County's Department of Environmental Management, which administers the rule, and can check the Hawaiʻi County Code through the Office of the County Clerk.
Why the confusion persists
A few things make this easy to get wrong.
The proposed text reads like law. A bill is drafted in the language of a rule already in force. The House companion's draft is still online and, read cold, says "it shall be unlawful to sell". Nothing in that sentence marks it as a proposal.
State and county rules get described as one thing. "Hawaii" is both a state and a county, and a summary that is accurate about the statewide statute can be incomplete about Maui, while a summary accurate about Maui can overstate what applies in Waikīkī.
A near miss compresses badly. A 25–0 Senate vote is notable, and "passed the Senate unanimously" shortens to "passed" with very little resistance, particularly at the end of a sentence that began with a correct statement about the 2018 law.
Older articles age badly. Articles written in 2021 and 2022, while the bills were alive, could fairly call the ban pending and give 1 January 2023 as its start. Read today without a date check, they describe a ban that never arrived.
How to check a sunscreen, or a bill, yourself
Every rule on this page turns on one line of the Drug Facts panel: the active ingredients.
- Find the Drug Facts panel and read "Active ingredient(s)".
- If it lists anything other than zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, it can't be used in Maui County without a prescription, and shops in Maui County and on Hawaiʻi Island can't sell it without one.
- If it lists oxybenzone or octinoxate, it can't be sold without a prescription anywhere in the state. The same check works on a bottle you buy after you land.
- For a bill, open its measure history, the Legislature's page listing a bill's votes and committee referrals, and read the effective-date section of the latest draft.
- Read the bill's numbered sections, not the one-sentence summary printed with each draft. The summary is the Legislature's own and easier to read, but only the numbered sections would have become law.
A hotel or rental stocking sunscreen for guests runs the same label check: the rule where it is sold, and in Maui County, the rule on use.
Apply that test to us. Ours is Solvyn Shield, listed on DailyMed, the National Library of Medicine's database of drug labels, as Solvyn Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50 (NDC 87777-948-00). Its Drug Facts panel lists one active ingredient: zinc oxide 17.50%.
By the definitions set out above, that is not a "non-mineral sunscreen", and it contains neither filter the state statute names. That is our reading of the published definitions against our published label, not a determination by either County. It comes as zinc oxide sunscreen in single-use 5 mL packets, sold in packs.
Shield's label says to reapply after 80 minutes of swimming or sweating, immediately after towel drying, and at least every 2 hours.
Primary sources
State law (read 23 September 2026)
Legislature links use its data host, data.capitol.hawaii.gov, which serves the same documents as capitol.hawaii.gov.
- HRS §342D-21: sale and distribution of sunscreen containing oxybenzone or octinoxate; prohibition. The Legislature's own online copy, which lists only Act 104 (2018) as its source and records no amendment
- SB2571 CD1 (2018): the enrolled text of Act 104. Its section 5 sets the Act's effective date of 1 July 2018
- SB2571 measure history, 2018 session: records Act 104 on 3 July 2018
SB132 (2021) (read 23 September 2026)
- SB132 measure history, 2021 session
- SB132 measure history, 2022 session: the carryover and no further action
- SB132 SD2: the version the Senate passed, 9 March 2021
- SB132 HD1: the House draft carrying the 1 July 2050 effective date
- Stand. Com. Rep. No. 464 and Stand. Com. Rep. No. 639: the Senate committee reports on SB132 SD1 and SD2, reported out on 19 February and 4 March 2021
- Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1009: the committee report stating why the effective date was changed
Companion bills (read 23 September 2026)
- HB102 measure history, 2021 session and 2022 session
- HB102 HD1: its section 4 sets an effective date of 1 July 2050
- SB366 measure history, 2021 session and 2022 session
2026 session (read 23 September 2026)
- HB1857 and SB2491: adding physician assistants to the health care providers who can prescribe
- HB1857 HD1, section 109, and SB2491 SD1, section 108: the sections amending §342D-21
- SB2426 and SB840: beach sunscreen dispensers
- SB1237 and SB2235: passing mentions only
County rules
- Maui County Ordinance 5306, establishing Chapter 20.42, Maui County Code. Read on 23 September 2026 from an archived copy of the County's signed PDF (Wayback Machine, 12 March 2025), because the live URL refused automated requests
- County of Hawaiʻi Department of Environmental Management, Rules of Practice and Procedure, revised 15 July 2024, Rule 2-12. Read 23 September 2026
- Hawaiʻi County Code, Office of the County Clerk. The live page refused automated requests on 23 September 2026; an archived copy (Wayback Machine, 16 August 2026) confirms it links the County Code
Our label (read 23 September 2026)
- DailyMed: Solvyn Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50, NDC 87777-948-00: the Drug Facts label as filed with FDA, including the active ingredient and the reapplication directions
A note on scope. Regulations change, and county rules in this area have changed more recently than the state statute. This article is for general information and reflects the sources above as read on the dates given. It is not legal advice. Businesses should confirm current requirements with the applicable state or county authority before making a compliance decision.
Solvyn makes Shield, a mineral sunscreen. What each law or bill says is sourced to the instrument or legislative record listed above, the passages that turn on exact words are quoted, and where we could not read an instrument we have said so.
For the full text of the state statute, see Hawaii's sunscreen law.
