about urea

What is Urea?

Produced naturally by the skin to regulate its moisture content, called “natural moisturizing factors” (NMFs).

  • Urea is hygroscopic, binding water in the uppermost layer of the skin, the stratum corneum.
  • Urea is also keratolytic in high concentrations, meaning it breaks down the connections between dead skin cells, improving cell shedding.
  • Urea acts as a humectant moisturizer and helps to improve the quality of the skin’s protective barrier.
  • Inadequate hydration of the stratum corneum results in dry skin.
  • Several skin conditions, including psoriasis and atopic dermatitis, both of which feature extremely dry skin among their primary symptoms, appear to be linked to reduced levels of NMF.

Urea Role for Skin

In addition to acting as a moisturizer and helping to improve the skin’s barrier function, urea as an ingredient in Metabase Cream also exhibits several other important functions in the skin:

  • It aids in the process of breaking down keratin, which is a protein that exists in various places in the body, including skin, nails, and hair. This is an important step in the process of shedding the outer layer of skin.
  • It is antimicrobial (antibacterial), interfering with the growth of bacteria and other microorganisms.
  • It helps to soothe itchy skin.

Urea Plays a Significant Role in Managing Atopic Dermatitis

  • The skin of patients with atopic dermatitis is characterized by increased TEWL (Trans Epidermal Water Loss) and dysfunction of the skin barrier.
  • The use of emollient and moisturizing creams is considered a cornerstone of the management of this disorder.
  • However, given the wide variety of products available, choosing an emollient/moisturizer can be difficult, and some products may even worsen atopic dermatitis or induce contact dermatitis. For example, overuse of humectant alone.
  • Urea-containing preparations like Metabase Cream have been shown to decrease TEWL and improve hydration of the stratum corneum and water-binding capacity in eczematous skin.
  • A systematic review of the use of emollients in atopic dermatitis found that clinical effectiveness appears most well documented for urea-based preparations and recommends topical urea as a first-line choice in atopic dermatitis.

Urea Plays a Significant Role in Psoriasis

  • Urea-based formulations like Metabase Cream improve hydration of the skin and its water retention capacity and decrease TEWL, pruritus, and hyperkeratosis in patients with psoriasis.
  • Clinical evidence of urea-containing products at low concentrations (2% to 12%) shows effectiveness in the treatment and/or prevention of xerosis in some skin disorders such as ichthyosis, atopic dermatitis, and psoriasis, or unrelated to specific skin diseases.
  • Urea at low concentrations can also increase the effectiveness of other topical treatments like betamethasone and calcipotriol.

Juvenile Plantar Dermatosis

  • A daily application of barrier cream and moisturizers significantly improved foot appearance, reduced peeling, cracking, and recurrences among patients.
  • A urea-containing moisturizer like Metabase Cream is recommended for regular use on both feet upon clearance of the lesions completely.
  • Patients were advised to continue foot care with dimethicone barrier cream.

Other Indications for Urea

  • Topical 10% urea preparations significantly improve skin dryness and pruritus in patients with excellent tolerability.
  • 10% urea creams have demonstrated to improve the efficacy of other topical treatments of hyper-keratotic type tinea pedis.
  • The regular use of a moisturizer containing 10% of urea and 4% of lactic acid has demonstrated to be beneficial in the treatment of moderate-to-severe xerosis of the feet in patients with diabetes. This is particularly important as, in these patients, xerosis generally increases the risk of complications, including infection and ulceration.