Urea creams are said to be highly moisturizing and extremely effective. But how good are the lotions really – and do they actually contain urea? ÖKO-TEST tested 20 different products. In our video we show what is important when buying a urea face cream.
Urea lotions are body creams that contain synthetic urea. In the past, real horse urea had to be used for urea lotions, but nowadays the manufacturers rely on synthetic urea. The only exception is natural cosmetics, where natural urea is required. Sound gross? But it is not. In the issue (12/2021), ÖKO-TEST tested a total of 20 urea lotions.
Urea is not only found in our urine. The substance is also found in the top layer of skin. There he does a lot of good. It binds moisture, relieves itching, has a dandruff-removing effect and is generally very well tolerated. It is therefore particularly advisable to use a urea cream in winter, when the skin suffers from low temperatures and the dry air from heating. However, not all creams live up to their promises. We will therefore show you which products are recommended and present the results of ÖKO-TEST.
Overall, ÖKO-TEST tested 20 creams made from synthetic urea. Natural cosmetics are not part of the test. Eleven of the tested products were rated “very good”. Here are the urea shooting stars from the supermarket, discounter or drugstore:
None of the above creams cost more than three euros per 200 milliliters. At 98 cents per 200 ml, the Kaufland fluid is the cheapest. The lotion from Edeka and Aldi is “the most expensive” at 2.66 euros per 200 ml. Compared to the high-priced branded creams that were also tested, these are still very cheap. After all, the most expensive urea lotion in the test costs a whopping 17 euros per 200 milliliters.
Four products fail. The first lotion looser is Garnier’s “Body Urea skin-smoothing cream-milk 5%”, which only scores “inadequate”. The reason: the laboratory was able to detect PEG and PEG derivatives and silicones in the body lotion.
But not only the Garnier cream disappoints. Three other ointments received an “unsatisfactory” due to a wide variety of critical ingredients. Beiersdorf’s “Eucerin Urea Repair Original 10% Urea Lotion” also contains PEG/PEG derivatives – which is particularly disappointing for a pharmacy product.
The expensive branded lotion “Lipikar Lait Urea 5 Lotion” from La Roche-Posay also contains the harmful substances. The laboratory was also able to detect halogenated organic compounds that are classified as possibly carcinogenic. In addition, the specified urea content of 5% does not correspond to the percentage of 4.1 percent measured in the laboratory. Therefore: point deduction.
The last expensive brand name cream that fails the ECO test is L’Oréal’s Mixa Urea Cica Repair 5% Urea. This lotion also contains critical substances such as PEG/PEG derivatives, mineral oil, paraffins and silicones. The L’Oreal lotion has to make do with a grade of six.
You can read the detailed test with all the results at ÖKO-TEST for a fee.
