Response to About Urea by: Nanette from Skin-Remedies.com
Hi Odette,
Yours is a very good question. The answer is "yes", urea most certainly exfoliates the skin and I will explain how. Actually, urea is a compound naturally found in the human body and exists in every HEALTHY cell. Found in the surface layer of the skin (epidermis), urea plays a vital role in maintaining the skin's moisture balance and the suppleness of the skin. When skin problems arise or simply in the natural course of the aging process, urea in the cells becomes deficient. As a result of the reduced levels of urea, the water binding capacity of the skin is decreased and moisture is lost. This leads to roughness, tightness, scaly or flaky skin and irritation. Without necessary moisture drawn in by the urea, cells become dry, caked and hardened hindering the natural cell replacement process - thus the need for exfoliation.
All of our urea creams cause hard, dry skin cells to "unpack" and expose their water binding sites, thereby enabling the cell to absorb and retain additional moisture while at the same time preventing water loss in the skin layers. If the skin is very dry and scaly, a large amount of the cream is taken up by the horny layer in order to restore needed moisture and bring back the skin's balance in disposing of dead cells and replacing them with new and healthy for wonderfully vibrant skin.
As research studies show, urea replenishes the water content of the skin because it binds hydrogen and attracts moisture to the skin in a way that no mineral oil or glycerine-based lotions or creams can. In the many years of laboratory studies researchers discovered that, unlike just about all other types of moisturizers that contain high levels of pore clogging mineral oil that simply sits on the top layers of the skin and do nothing to improve, urea actually increases the water-binding capacity of the skin by opening the 7 skin layers for hydrogen bonding, which then attracts moisture to dry skin cells.
But not all urea creams are alike! I tell my clients to become "label readers" and to stay away from the many products that are on the market today that contain a cocktail of harmful ingredients. Some companies will even "sprinkle" in a little urea to their mix of unpronounceable chemical filled ingredients and dishonestly call their product "healthy"! As always, buyer beware would apply. All of our creams are filled with only the most health building and natural ingredients. Remember, since urea brings whatever it is mixed into down to the 7 layers of your skin, you want only the BEST ingredients.
Please feel free to contact me with any other questions you may have Odette.
