She cute.... and long awaited. The infamous "urea moisturizer" created by f.c. himself! This product underwent several dozen formulations before its current iteration. *Cue this isn't my final form meme. 😏
Its star ingredient is urea, a molecule found in the skin's natural moisturizing factor (NMF) that plays an integral role in improving skin barrier function.
Urea is one of those magical unicorn ingredients with the ability to both hydrate AND mildly exfoliate. It's so effective as a hydrator, in fact, that it outperforms vaseline in some studies. (1)
For more information about all things urea, please see our blog post on Simple Skincare Science.
Other key features!
- Glycerin: works synergistically with urea for added hydration and smoothing effect. (2)
- Dimethicone: creates a protective barrier and locks in moisture.
- Hyaluronic acid: hydrates skin by attracting 1000 times its weight in water.
- Allantoin: skin-soothing and stabilizes urea.
- Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride: an emollient that softens skin. It took us months to find, but we're happy to report that our caprylic/capric triglyceride is as pure as it gets and contains no trace amount of C12-24 fatty acids :)
INCI: Water, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Urea, Glycerin, Dimethicone, Sodium Polyacrylate, Cyclopentasiloxane, Trideceth-6, PEG/PPG-18/18 Dimethicone, Phenoxyethanol, Allantoin, Hyaluronic Acid, Ethylhexylglycerin
Customer Reviews
I started using urea cream and benzoyl peroxide treatment a 1.5 week ago and I already can see some great improvements. I would really like to have a magic remedy that would get rid of my acne in one night, but unfortunately in this world it does not work that way, so I will continue my treatment :D These two products have great formulation, therefore I plan to order 2 more moisturizers and one treatment, thanks to the creators for their approach and honesty - this is very important for me as a client!
I had basically given up on all skincare products because they all seemed to make my sensitive, oily, acne and dermatitis-prone skin worse. I found this product while researching out how to treat my latest flare of perioral dermatitis, and it's been life-changing for me. I'm treating the dermatitis with antibiotics, azaleic acid, and hydrogen peroxide, but this product has been restoring my moisture barrier, which is a key part of restoring my skin's microbiome. It doesn't clog my pores at all, not even a little bit, which I've never experienced with a moisturizer before. Within a week my skin was soft, completely hydrated, and it feels incredible. It's light and absorbs quickly, and makes me feel like I have the skin of a rich celebrity. I will use this forever!
I was really excited to try this. I’ve been suffering from acne/fungal acne for over a decade. Although the ingredients do not feed the yeast, I would not recommend this product to people with sensitive or oily skin particularly.
This product contains dimethicone, which has occlusive properties. For some people, especially those with oily, active acne/fungal acne, this has a high chance of making it worse because the dimethicone just traps the oil, dirt, bacteria, yeast, etc.
Dimethicone has always caused breakouts for me but I still wanted to give this a try since I haven’t used Dimethicone products in many years. I put this on my face, as well as my chest, back, neck, and arms before bed to test the product. My skin in these areas were clear except a few breakouts on my face.
When I woke up I had two large, painful cysts on my neck, a cluster of small and medium pimples on my back, small fungal pimples along my jawline and two more smaller cysts on my chin. Fortunately no breakouts on my arms but they became itchy and red a few minutes after applying and I scratched them excessively and made it worse.
My skin hates this product. it’s unfortunate I cannot finish the product and use it as a body moisturizer. Straight to the trash. I don’t want to leave my apartment today..
I have been struggling with forehead bumps for quite some time and was recommended of this product by a friend who struggled the same thing. After using this product for a week, my forehead has cleared up and I can’t be happier, plus I live in LA so it’s very dry here but this product keeps my face moisturized all day!
I'm very sorry to write this review, but I have to since it could be helpful for others who have similar skin issues. If you've ever had eczema on your face (contact or atopic dermatitis) please proceed with caution with this moisturizer. Urea is actually one of the ingredients that can trigger irritation -- I had the worst reaction I have experienced in YEARS after using this moisturizer. At first I thought it was the benzoyl peroxide, but the rash started on my neck and spread to my entire face and eye lids. I was swollen for days. I'm still dealing with dryness and scaliness from the reaction and it's been over a week. (See more info here: https://nationaleczema.org/blog/8-skincare-ingredients-to-avoid/)
Hello Bec.
We are so sorry for your bad experience with our product, and wish you all the best finding something that works!
With that said, urea is actually a very well studied ingredient for the treatment of eczema. In a 2013 meta-analysis examining the clinical literature on urea, more than a dozen studies showed it was an effective eczema treatment. You can read more here:
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/11x463rp
Additionally, many more studies have come out since showing the same. The most recent was published in November 2022.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9664912/
With that said, benzoyl peroxide as you mentioned, should definitely be avoided if you have eczema.
This moisturizer is great for sensitive, acne prone skin!
This moisturizer is great for sensitive, acne prone skin!
This moisturizer is great for sensitive, acne prone skin!
This moisturizer is great for sensitive, acne prone skin!
This moisturizer is great for sensitive, acne prone skin!