This story first appeared on Wednesday, February 19, 2025, in The Strategist Beauty Brief, a weekly newsletter in which our beauty writers share their must-tries, can-skips, and can’t-live-withouts. But we liked it so much we wanted to share it with all of our readers. If you want more first impressions of buzzy launches, quick takes on what’s trending on TikTok and Instagram, and deep dives into the week’s best beauty launches, sign up here. The Strategist Beauty Brief is delivered every Wednesday.
Six years ago, deep in the threads of Reddit’s r/skincareaddiction, I learned about urea. I needed a moisturizer for my dry, eczema-prone skin, but my current lotion was exasperating my KP (keratosis pilaris). I landed on a very medicinal-looking, urea-containing Eucerin lotion. I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly it worked. My scaly skin was silky after a couple days, no KP.
That was that, until January of this year, when I got an email about Naturium’s new Urea 5% Body Serum. I called in a sample, and the serum alone worked just as well as my multistep body-moisturizing routine. I was impressed. I called up cosmetic chemist Julian Sass for a chat about why urea’s so effective. “It’s popular in dermatology, but consumers aren’t like, ‘Oh, urea!’ when they see it on packaging,” Sass said.
As for urea’s effectiveness, it’s a molecule we produce as part of our skin’s natural moisturizing process. At lower concentrations — 10 percent or under — it’s purely a hydrophilic moisturizer, meaning it helps our skin retain hydration. At higher concentrations, it’s also a keratolytic agent, meaning it’s able to break down keratin and slough away the outer layer of skin. You basically get all of the smoothing benefits of an exfoliating ingredient without any of the adverse drying effects. This is precisely why it worked so well for me: I was able to hydrate and retain that moisture in my skin without clogged pores or keratin buildup.
I’m calling it here: Urea is on the cusp of a come-up. Naturium’s not alone. Other buzzy brands like Prequel and Inkey List have released their own urea creams. Trendiness aside, urea’s back on my roster of staples and it’ll stay there. If your skin is ultradry, it’s really worth a shot. Now that winter’s in full swing, I’ve returned to my trusty Eucerin — this time switching to the slightly less expensive Roughness Relief Body Lotion — for extra-dry days and started using Naturium’s serum on days I don’t feel like doing my two-step exfoliating and hydrating routine. My skin drinks it up, and I haven’t dealt with roughness or bumps since.
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