Why is urea used in lotion?

Do you ever stop mid-rub and wonder, what’s the deal with urea in lotion? Fear not, fellow emollient enthusiasts! We’ve got your back(side) covered.

The Basics

First things first: what even is urea? Contrary to popular belief among toddlers, it is not a type of dinosaur. It’s actually a compound found naturally in urine (hence the name). However, before you start working on that new skincare line featuring golden showers as the star ingredient, let us clarify that synthetic uric acid – because everything sounds fancier when you add “synthetic” to it – is what we use for lotions.

Now comes the real question:

What does urea do for our skin exactly?

Urea has become somewhat of an MVP in skincare formulations due to its ability to hold onto moisture levels better than…forgetful-thirsty-plants-with-undeveloped-root-systems-that-only-nativ-es-know-how-to-care-for-anyway. A quick scan of any drugstore lotion bottle will likely reveal ‘Contains Urea‘ slapped on there like an Oscar winner at Men’s Warehouse during prom season.

If your face looks anything like mine whenever I see pumpkin spice advertised out of season,you’re probably wondering if using wee-wee cream (as my coworker lovingly refers to it) would be hydrating or irritating.

TL;DR: When formulated correctly at appropriate concentrations (key point alert!) , synthesised urea helps retain water content within our epidermis – which equals moisturization without feeling greasy AF.

Otis Goes Medical

Cue T.T.R.L.C(Try To Remember Latin Class)

Are you ready for some scientific mumbo-jumbo? Let’s dive into why urea rules when it comes to skin hydration

When we look at the epidermis microscopically, there are protein structures called corneocytes – that’s C.O.R.N.E.OC-yes. Within these cells is a matrix made up of insoluble keratin fibres and natural moisturising factors (NMFs). Among them withstanding wintery-like dryness amongst others ( fun fact: every time you dance to an Alecia Keys’ song you shed over pl6600000 skin cells) . The NMFs role is to hold onto moisture in the stratum corneum -the outermost layer of your skin.

Back to urea chat. Urea also happens to be one of those precious parts of our body’s natural moisturization factor (NMF), it attracts water molecules which aides in retaining moisture level.

We got this – ‘wee-wee cream’=urea based cream 😛

And FYI, pumpkin spice lotion looks more like clotted orange juice

If only dating life were as easy as attracting water molecules…

Oh God, don’t even get us started on exfoliation puns.

Moisturization Mania

Why rely purely on our shower puddle-doused bodies from keeping us silky smooth when we can add some synthetic urine into the mix? Just kidding. Maybe.

With added urea, lotions offer smoothing benefits for rough or scaly textures because it aids ridged layers “breaking down” by unlocking tight connectivity between dead skin cells that make up our horny layer (calm down dermatologists, let me finish!) resulting in extra slippage, preventing chaffing and enhancing hydration.

So if urething something new, give products containing Urea two thumbs up!

There you have it folks, the lowdown—er-hydration info—on why using wee-wee cream may just be the secret ingredient to flaunting silky-smooth skin. Now go forth and slather, in moderation of-course!.

(You see what we did there???)

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