Urea for Dry Skin

One of Skincare’s Best-Kept Secrets? It’s Urea.

In the search for smoother, more hydrated skin, many people turn to trendy ingredients and high-end products. But one of the most effective—and surprisingly underrated—ingredients in dermatology is urea.

Let’s take a closer look at how urea works, what makes it so effective (even at lower strengths), and why it might be the missing link in your skincare routine.

What Is Urea, and How Does It Help Your Skin?

Urea is a naturally occurring compound in the skin that helps maintain hydration and is often used in skincare products for its two main benefits: hydrating and exfoliating. As a humectant, urea draws moisture from the environment into your skin, keeping it soft and smooth. It also works as a keratolytic agent, helping to break down thickened, dead skin cells, which is particularly beneficial for conditions like dry skin, eczema, and psoriasis.

Urea used in skincare formulations is synthetically produced in labs, although it is also a natural byproduct of protein metabolism in the body. In the liver, amino acids are broken down and converted into ammonia, which is then combined with carbon dioxide to form urea, a process that helps eliminate excess nitrogen. For skincare purposes, urea is derived through synthetic methods, where ammonia and carbon dioxide are combined in a controlled chemical process. This synthetic urea is then purified and added to various skincare products in carefully measured concentrations.

How Urea Penetrates the Skin

Urea’s ability to penetrate the skin is influenced by both its polarity and small size. As a small, low-molecular-weight molecule (about 60 Daltons, roughly half the size of a water molecule and hundreds of times smaller than most proteins in your body), urea can easily slip through the small spaces between the tightly packed cells in the skin’s outermost layer, the stratum corneum. This layer is made up of dead skin cells and lipids, creating a lipid-rich barrier, but urea’s small size allows it to move through the intercellular spaces between these cells, a process known as paracellular transport.

Image Source: Cleveland Clinic. *Dermis – What Is the Dermis?* Retrieved from Cleveland Clinic.

Furthermore, urea’s polar structure allows it to form hydrogen bonds with water, helping it draw and retain moisture in the skin. This not only hydrates and softens the skin but also helps gently exfoliate by breaking down hardened or dead skin cells. While urea is not strongly lipophilic, its small size and neutral charge allow it to navigate through both water-based and lipid-based layers of the skin. This ability helps it penetrate into the skin more deeply, delivering lasting hydration and improving overall skin texture.

Lower Concentrations of Urea: New Science, Same Benefits?

Traditionally, urea has been used in higher concentrations (up to 40%) in products aimed at treating thickened skin, such as the plaques seen in psoriasis or severe dry skin. But new research is shifting the conversation toward lower concentrations of urea. A 2020 study explored the benefits of using urea at concentrations as low as 10%. The results (shown below) showed that even at lower concentrations, urea was found to effectively hydrate the skin and improve skin texture—just like higher concentrations, but with less risk of irritation.

Before and after images from Lacarrubba et al. (2020)

Urea’s ability to hydrate without causing irritation could make it a gentler option for everyday skincare, especially for those dealing with chronic dryness or conditions like eczema and mild psoriasis.

Why Does This Matter for Psoriasis and Eczema?

Psoriasis is a skin condition that causes dry, thick patches of skin, often accompanied by scaling and flaking. While there are many treatments available, keeping the skin moisturized and soft is key to managing symptoms.

In patients with psoriasis, a 10% urea ointment applied to plaque-type lesions for two weeks resulted in a greater than 50% improvement in clinical scores, alongside a two-fold increase in stratum corneum hydration. Notably, the treatment led to a 51% decrease in epidermal cell proliferation—a hallmark of psoriasis—and partially restored normal patterns of skin protein expression. While the ointment base alone offered some benefit, urea-treated areas saw significantly greater improvements in thickness and inflammation, reinforcing urea’s role not just as a moisturizer, but as a biologically active treatment.

Similarly, in a study of patients with hand eczema, daily use of a 30% urea cream for 4 weeks significantly reduced transepidermal water loss, increased skin hydration, and diminished redness and irritation. Participants reported high satisfaction with the treatment’s effectiveness and ease of use. Another study on seborrheic dermatitis and psoriasiform scalp conditions using a 10% urea foaming product showed a marked reduction in dryness and scaling, further emphasizing urea’s utility across a spectrum of skin disorders.

Urea also has the added benefit of boosting the effectiveness of other treatments. When used alongside other medications like corticosteroids or vitamin D analogs, urea helps these active ingredients penetrate deeper into the skin.

Product Recommendations

Here are some products with varying concentrations of urea that can help keep your skin hydrated and exfoliated:

Final Thoughts

For people with sensitive skin or conditions like psoriasis, the efficacy of low-concentration urea means a gentler, more effective solution to help manage dryness and improve skin texture. If you’re looking to boost your skincare routine with a scientifically-backed ingredient, urea could be a great addition.

You’ve reached the end of this article. Thanks for reading! Hope you found this helpful.

The information in this article is for informational purposes and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your physician regarding a medical condition or treatment.

Sources

Celleno, L., D’amore, A., & Cheong, W. K. (2022). The Use of Urea Cream for Hand Eczema and Urea Foam for Seborrheic Dermatitis and Psoriasiform Dermatoses of the Scalp. Clinical, cosmetic and investigational dermatology, 15, 2445–2454. https://doi.org/10.2147/CCID.S377718
Hagemann, I., & Proksch, E. (1996). Topical treatment by urea reduces epidermal hyperproliferation and induces differentiation in psoriasis. Acta dermato-venereologica, 76(5), 353–356. https://doi.org/10.2340/0001555576353356
Lacarrubba F, Nasca MR, Puglisi DF, Micali G. Clinical evidences of urea at low concentration. Int J Clin Pract. 2020; 74:e13626. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcp.13626
Nair PA, Badri T. Psoriasis. [Updated 2023 Apr 3]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK448194/
Piquero-Casals, J., Morgado-Carrasco, D., Granger, C., Trullàs, C., Jesús-Silva, A., & Krutmann, J. (2021). Urea in Dermatology: A Review of its Emollient, Moisturizing, Keratolytic, Skin Barrier Enhancing and Antimicrobial Properties. Dermatology and therapy, 11(6), 1905–1915. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13555-021-00611-y