Caredermis

Urea

Severity 2/10Editorial

humectant · keratolytic · also known as carbamide

Is Urea safe?

Urea is prohibited in cosmetic products in the EU (CosIng Annex II), with documented concerns: irritation.

In plain language

A natural moisturizing factor: hydrating below 10%, callus-softening above. Valuable in eczema care despite stinging on open skin.

A Caredermis plain-language explanation to help you read the label — not a regulator statement. The sourced facts are the classifications and status shown on this page.

Documented concerns

Concerns marked Editorialare Caredermis' own dermatological review; the rest are drawn from official data — see the cited sources ↓

Irritation

Editorial2/10

Above ~10% it becomes keratolytic and can sting on broken skin.

Official regulatory status

Pulled directly from official regulatory datasets and expert reviews — not our own judgement.

CIR: reviewed safeEU cosmetics: Prohibited

Guidance by skin profile

Caredermis editorial guidance based on the concerns above — checked against the official records on every build, but not itself a regulator statement.

  • Sensitive skinNo specific concern
  • Oily & acne-proneNo specific concern
  • Dry skinNo specific concern
  • PregnancyNo specific concern
  • Babies & kidsNo specific concern
  • Eczema-proneNo specific concern

Sources

Each authority below is shown only because our ingested copy of its data lists Urea — not because we asserted it. Follow a link to verify the classification or regulation directly.

CIR conclusion from the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Quick Reference Table — cir-safety.org (snapshot in data/sources/)(point-in-time snapshot; CIR's live record may have been updated since).

See our methodology for how these map to concern levels. Informational only — not medical advice.

Products in our library containing Urea

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