Urea Cream has been widely used throughout Europe for many years.
Here are the main benefits as per The McCowan Foot Clinic in Ontario and why you should use it if you suffer from dry cracked feet.
Urea and Foot Care
With daily physical activity, the heels and soles of the feet are prone to dryness and cracks. Unattended deeps cracks in the feet can become infected and develop into wounds. Applying an urea-containing cream or lotion to the feet regularly can help the skin to stay hydrated and prevent against complications. In particular, people with Diabetes need to maintain adequate skin hydration to reduce the risk of skin breakdown and infection. In addition, regular use of a urea-containing moisturizers can help to reduce callus buildup and provide relief from dry, itchy skin. At high concentrations, urea can be used to remove damaged and thickened toenails. Overall, urea provides many benefits in help the feet stay healthy and hydrated.
Benefits of Urea
Hydration: Urea is a humectant due to its ability to retain moisture by binding to water. When urea is applied to the skin, it is able to penetrate into the stratum corneum to further enhance water absorption. Hence, urea improves the ability of the skin to retain water, while simultaneously balancing adequate hydration.
Protection: By retaining moisture and enhancing the skin’s renewal process, urea helps to ultimately strengthen the stratum corneum barrier function to fight against trauma and containments. Routine use of a moisturizer to the skin is necessary to prevent the development of dry skin.
Exfoliation: Removal of dead skin cells in the stratum corneum will improve the water binding ability of the skin. At high concentrations, urea is a keratolytic and helps to loosen scaly, dead skin allowing for exfoliation and improve cellular turnover.
Penetration: The benefits of urea to strengthen the skin’s barrier has allowed it to be used in a variety of urea-containing creams and lotions for skin conditions such as atopic dermatitis, eczema, psoriasis and cracked heels. Urea enhances skin penetration of topical medication such as corticosteroids and antifungals in order to treat scaling and inflammation of the skin.
References
Friedman, A., von Grote, E., & Meckfessel, M. (2016). Urea: A clinically oriented overview from bench to bedside. Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 15, 633-639.