Urea
Urea is a humectant that also softens hardened skin, which is why it turns up on heels and hands more than on faces. Percentage matters more here than on almost any other ingredient shelf: the low ones hydrate, the high ones break down thickened callus. This grid spans BIOTURM 5% Urea Facial Cream 75ml at the gentle end through Eubos Urea 10% Foot Cream 100ml and Derma B Urea 9.8 Foot Cream to Extreme Buff's 170,000ppm repair cream. German pharmacy staples such as Eucerin, Sebamed, Balea and Isana sit beside Korean formulations from NEOPHARM Zeroid, Purdell and eyenlip. Forty-two sellers appear and none holds more than about a twelfth of the page.
By Skinsli editorial Updated
Buying guide
Choosing a urea strength
Urea does two different jobs depending on how much of it is in the jar. At low strengths it holds water in the skin. At high strengths it loosens the bonds between hardened surface cells, which is why the foot creams here run far stronger than the face creams. Getting the number right matters more than getting the brand right, so this guide is organised around it.
What the number on the tube means
Around 3% to 5% is the hydrating range, suitable for face and hands. Olivenol Hand Cream Urea 3% 100ml, Eucerin 5% Urea Hand Cream 75ml, BIOTURM 5% Urea Facial Cream 75ml, Sebamed Urea 5% Relief Face Cream 50ml and NEOPHARM Zeroid Urea 5% Reconic Cream 60ml all sit there. From about 7% upward the softening effect takes over, which is where Purdell Urea Repair Cream 7% 50ml and Sebamed Urea 10% Relief Repair Lotion 200ml belong. The 10% foot creams are the strongest common tier. Higher on the face is not better, and a 10% product on already irritated skin will sting.
Reading ppm instead of percent
Korean labels often print parts per million, and the same product usually gives both. Purdell states 70,000ppm and 7% on the same tube, which sets the conversion: divide the ppm figure by ten thousand. That makes Dermapedel Urea 70,000ppm EGF Repair Cream 50ml a 7% product, Extreme Buff Iron Grip Urea 100,000ppm Hand Cream 50ml a 10% one, and its Vitamin E Urea 150,000ppm and Probiotics Urea 170,000ppm creams 15% and 17%. Those last two are the strongest formulas on this page and are meant for very rough, thickened skin rather than daily all-over use.
Feet and heels, the biggest group
Twenty-two products here are for feet, about a quarter of the page. Eubos Urea 10% Foot Cream 100ml, Derma B Urea 9.8 Foot Cream at 80ml and 120ml, Nella Urea 10 Foot Cream 100g, FACE REVOLUTION Urea 10 Foot Cream 100g, BIOTURM Repair Foot Cream 10% Urea 100ml and Balea Urea Foot Cream 100ml are the core of it, with tetesept, Vaseline, Fine Dew, PICOSTECH and eyenlip filling in. COSMOCOS Man with Flowers Urea Heel Cream 100ml targets heels specifically. There are soaks too: BIOTURM Urea Foot Bath 150ml, Balea Urea Foot Bath 20g and Rossmann Footwell Urea Footbath 450g, plus a Balea Urea Foot Mask. Softening first in a soak and then applying the cream is how these are designed to work together. The wider foot cream collection carries the versions without urea.
Hand creams
Hand formulas cluster at 3% to 5% because the skin there needs water more than it needs softening. Eubos Urea 5% Hand Cream 75ml, Eucerin 5% Urea Hand Cream 75ml, ISANA Hand Cream Urea Intensive 100ml, Balea Urea Hand Cream 100ml, HandSan 5% Urea Hand Cream 90ml, Extra Soft SOS Urea Hand Cream 100ml and Olivenol at 3% are the shelf. Extreme Buff Iron Grip at 100,000ppm is the outlier at ten times the strength, aimed at hands that crack rather than hands that feel dry.
Body lotions and the few face products
Body sits in between. Eubos Urea 10% Body Lotion 200ml, Med 10% Urea Body Lotion 250ml and its 5.5% version, Isana Urea Body Lotion 300ml, Alterra 250ml, Instituto Español 500ml, Extra Soft SOS 5% 350ml and Mixa Urea Syka Repair Body Lotion 250ml are the main options, with Mixa also selling a 10-in-1 Cica Repair Urea Balsam 150ml and a 400ml repair cream. Face products are far fewer and deliberately mild: BIOTURM 5% Urea Facial Cream 75ml, Sebamed Urea 5% Relief Face Cream 50ml, Balea Urea Day Cream and Night Cream at 50ml each, and Med 5% Urea Nourishing Serum 100ml.
Scalp, shampoo and cleansers
A small group treats the scalp the way the foot creams treat heels. Eubos Urea 5% Shampoo 200ml and Sebamed Urea 5% Shampoo 200ml are the wash-off versions, while DermoCapillaire sells a Capiller Calming Urea Scalp Treatment 100ml and a Capiller Urea Intensive Tonic Scalp Essence 100ml as leave-ons. There is also Eubos Urea 5% Washing Cleanser 200ml for the face and a combined Urea Shampoo & Shower Gel 300ml. In a rinse-off product the contact time is short, so these are gentler in practice than the same percentage in a cream.
Undiluted urea and DIY listings
FRANCOISE & Fragrance sells urea as a raw material rather than a finished product: Urea Solution 80ml, Undiluted urea 80ml, French WAZ Urea Solution 80ml and a 100ml listing. These are for blending into your own formulations and are not meant to be applied neat. If you are looking for something to put straight on your feet tonight, buy one of the finished creams instead.
Quirks in the listings
A few records here have a seller name that is really part of a product label, so you will see brands shown as 5%, Med, Extra Soft, Cream Shower and Korea. Eucerin appears both directly and under Beiersdorf, Isana Med appears under Rossmann, and Derma B's foot cream is listed under NEOPHARM as well as under Derma B in two spellings. One FIRSTPICK gel cream carries a long keyword-stuffed title in which urea is one word among twenty. Counting those once, the page holds a little under 80 distinct products.
Using it without overdoing it
A 10% foot cream works best on damp skin at night, and socks over the top keep it in place. Give it a fortnight before judging, since urea works on cell turnover rather than instantly. Do not use the strong versions on cracked or broken skin, where they sting badly, and do not layer a high-percentage urea cream with an acid exfoliant on the same area. On the face, stay at 5% or below. If a 5% cream still feels sharp, the shampoos and washes are the mildest way to keep urea in the routine.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What urea percentage should I buy?
Match it to the area. For the face, stay at 5% or lower, which is where BIOTURM 5% Urea Facial Cream 75ml and Sebamed Urea 5% Relief Face Cream 50ml sit. For hands, 3% to 5% covers most needs. For heels and thickened skin, 10% is the usual working strength, as in Eubos Urea 10% Foot Cream 100ml and Derma B Urea 9.8 Foot Cream. Going higher than you need mostly buys stinging.
How do I convert ppm to a percentage?
Divide by ten thousand. Purdell prints both figures on the same tube, 70,000ppm and 7%, which confirms it. So Dermapedel Urea 70,000ppm EGF Repair Cream 50ml is 7%, Extreme Buff Iron Grip Urea 100,000ppm Hand Cream is 10%, and the Vitamin E 150,000ppm and Probiotics 170,000ppm creams are 15% and 17%. Those two are the strongest formulas on this page.
Why are so many of these foot creams?
Because above roughly 7% urea loosens hardened surface skin, and heels are where that matters most. Twenty-two of the products here are foot care, about a quarter of the page, including soaks such as BIOTURM Urea Foot Bath 150ml and Rossmann Footwell Urea Footbath 450g and a Balea Urea Foot Mask. The soak softens first and the cream works better afterwards. For foot creams built on other ingredients, the foot cream collection is the wider view.
Can I use urea on my face?
Yes, at low strength. The face products here are deliberately mild: BIOTURM 5% Urea Facial Cream 75ml, Sebamed Urea 5% Relief Face Cream 50ml, Balea Urea Day Cream and Night Cream at 50ml, Med 5% Urea Nourishing Serum 100ml and NEOPHARM Zeroid Urea 5% Reconic Cream 60ml. A foot-strength cream on facial skin is the mistake to avoid. Urea also stings on cracked or broken skin regardless of percentage.
What is the FRANCOISE undiluted urea for?
It is a raw material for people who blend their own formulations, sold as Urea Solution 80ml, Undiluted urea 80ml and a 100ml listing. It is not meant to go on skin as it comes. If you want something ready to use, pick one of the finished creams instead.
Does urea shampoo do anything for a flaky scalp?
It hydrates and softens, which is the same job it does elsewhere, but in a rinse-off product the contact time is short. Eubos Urea 5% Shampoo 200ml and Sebamed Urea 5% Shampoo 200ml are the wash-off options, and DermoCapillaire's Capiller Calming Urea Scalp Treatment 100ml and Urea Intensive Tonic Scalp Essence 100ml stay on the scalp, which is where you would expect more from them.
Can I combine a urea cream with an acid exfoliant?
On the same patch of skin, not usually. A 10% urea foot cream is already working on the surface layer, and adding a chemical exfoliant on top of it is how people end up with sore heels. Use one or the other, give it two weeks, and see where the skin is. Some formulas here already pair urea with a soothing ingredient instead, such as Mixa 10-in-1 Cica Repair Urea Balsam 150ml and Isana Urea Cica Body Cream 400ml.
What is the difference between the German and Korean products here?
Mostly the labelling convention and the format mix. The German pharmacy brands, Eucerin, Sebamed, Eubos, Balea, Isana, Mixa and BIOTURM, print a plain percentage and concentrate on foot, hand and body creams. The Korean entries, including NEOPHARM Zeroid, Purdell, Dermapedel, Extreme Buff and eyenlip, tend to print ppm and to combine urea with something else such as EGF, ceramide or probiotics. Both work the same way once you convert the number.