Urea against dry skin: How does the urea in creams and co. work?

Take care of your skin with substances that it does not produce in sufficient quantities itself - this is recommended by dermatologists. Urea is one such substance. We explain exactly what urea is and how it works.

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Urea, the English and Latin name for urea, is specified as an ingredient on some cosmetic products. Urea is a natural component of the skin and is popular as a moisturizer in both conventional and natural cosmetics.

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Do creams containing urea contain urine?

In the human body, urea is an end product of protein metabolism and is produced in the so-called urea cycle. It is excreted in the urine, among other things. For reasons of purity, the urea used in cosmetic products is not produced from animal or vegetable sources, but from carbon dioxide and ammonia in combination with high temperatures and pressure.

How does urea work?

Urea compensates for excessive moisture loss in the skin. The use of care products with urea is not aimed at externally moisturizing the skin. The internal humidification is initiated by the urea. It helps the cells connect to each other. In this way, dry skin can be effectively supplied with the necessary moisture from the inside.

Since urea is able to bind water, it is mainly contained in care products such as creams for dry skin. Depending on the concentration of urea in a product, the substance also has antimicrobial and anti-itch properties.

Info: Care products with a urea content of five to ten percent are used to regulate the skin's moisture content. Products with a urea concentration of 40 percent are used, for example, to treat fungal nails (onychomycosis), since the urea destroys the corneal cells.

What are the advantages of urea?

Skin care with urea has the advantage that it takes effect very quickly. However, if the skin is very dry, this also means that long-term care is required. If the care product is discontinued, the condition of the skin is very quickly back to the way it was before, namely dry. Care products with urea work on the principle that they restore balance. The urea products are therefore ideally suited for long-term care.

Why is urea used for neurodermatitis?

In neurodermatitis, the skin is dry, flaky and wet. There is also unbearable itching. It's a vicious cycle: scratching only makes it worse. Atopic eczema, known as neurodermatitis, gives those affected sleepless nights and severely restricts them in everyday life.

Neurodermatitis is not curable, but therapy can help. The protective acid mantle of the skin must be built up so that foreign substances cannot penetrate. For example, ointments that are free of fragrances and preservatives and contain the synthetic urea urea are suitable for this. Urea is a natural moisturizing factor and helps bind water in the horny layer of the skin.

Where else is urea used?

But urea is not only used in skin care. It is used in agriculture as a nitrogen fertilizer and urea resins can be a component of glue, for example.