Urea is also produced naturally by the skin and is part of the essential Natural Moisturizing Factor (NMF) which regulates skin’s moisture content. Urea is hygroscopic, which means it is able to bind moisture into the outermost layer of skin, thus relieves itching and roughness, helping  to  fight  dry  skin symptoms. It is also keratolytic, meaning it improves natural exfoliation and soothes and smoothes the skin’s surface. As a substance produced naturally by the skin, Urea is well-tolerated even by dry and sensitive skin. Because all of these effects and very good study data, Urea is the gold standard in treating of dry skin.*

* Reference: Augustin M et al., diagnosis and treatment of xerosis cutis – a position paper, JDDG 2019, DOI: 10.1111/ddg.13906

Lactic Acid is a skin’s own substance, being an essential component of the NMF (= natural moisturizing factor) as well as a AHA (=Alpha-hydroxy acid). 

Lactic Acid  acts in the stratum corneum with a two-fold effect: 

• moisturizing: it reduces skin scaling and balances the skin’s pH value to fight dry skin symptoms
• comedolytic: it inhibits the formation of comedones by helping the skin to shed and exfoliate and thus the pores from becoming clogged.