Urea in skincare: how strength changes what it does

What urea is

Urea is a component of the skin's natural moisturising factor, and a review of the clinical evidence says it plays an important role in keeping skin hydrated and intact.¹ Another review describes it as hygroscopic, meaning it absorbs water, and says it is present in the epidermis.²

Strength decides what it does

At 10% or lower, urea-containing products act as a moisturiser. Above 10%, they have a keratolytic action, which means they loosen and shed the dead cell layer. It is also useful in combination with anti-inflammatory and antifungal drugs, because it helps them penetrate.¹

That matters when you read a label. A low-strength urea cream and a high-strength one are doing different jobs, even though the ingredient is the same.¹

What the evidence says, and how it is tolerated

A 2021 review says multiple clinical trials of urea products have shown significant clinical improvement in scaly and dry skin conditions, including atopic dermatitis, ichthyosis, xerosis, seborrhoeic dermatitis and psoriasis. It reports that urea products are well tolerated, with mild side effects that are more frequent at high concentration.²

Both of these are narrative reviews, and several of the authors on the second work for skincare companies. They are a fair summary of the literature but not an independent judgement of it.

A recent study at 10%

A 2026 prospective study followed adults with confirmed dry skin (xerosis) who applied a 10% urea lotion twice daily for 60 days. Skin hydration rose by 55.3% and elasticity by 55%, redness, scaling and itching fell, and the lotion was well tolerated.³

It was a single-arm study with no control group, and the lotion also contained thermal water, so the gains cannot be credited to urea alone.³ It fits the review picture at 10%, but it does not add a controlled comparison.

Urea in pregnancy and breastfeeding

Evidence on cosmetic products in pregnancy is limited overall, so ask your doctor or midwife about the specific product you use.⁴

What you will see on the label

The names to look for are Urea. In Snifff, it reads as Low risk. For the rest of the formula, see what the score means and how to read the list.

As Snifff shows it

Urea

Low risk

Pregnancy and nursing

We found no pregnancy- or lactation-specific evidence for this ingredient.

Wording as it appears in the extension, which can change between releases.