Ingredient intelligence
Urea
Humectant · Urea · CH4N2O
Urea is a small natural moisturising factor component that is humectant at low concentrations and at high concentrations.
Any underlined term can be tapped for an everyday-English translation.
Molecular identity
- Formula
- CH4N2O
- Molecular weight
- 60.06 g/mol
- PubChem CID
- 1176
- ChEBI
- CHEBI:16199
Biological targets
Aquaporin-3 (AQP3)
medium confidencemodulates · transporter
UniProt Q92482Transglutaminase 1 (TGM1)
low confidenceassociated with · enzyme
UniProt P22735
How could this ingredient interact with biology?
Biological network
Ingredient → molecule → target → gene/protein → pathway → process → studied outcome. Relationship strength is drawn from the curated confidence tier; nothing is added to make the chain look complete.
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2 lower-confidence relationships are hidden at this filter level. Use “Show more biology” to include them.
Text alternative for this network
- Urea is molecule Urea — high confidence
- Urea modulates Aquaporin-3 (AQP3) — medium confidence
- Aquaporin-3 (AQP3) encoded by AQP3 — medium confidence
- AQP3 participates in Passive transport by aquaporins — medium confidence
- FLG participates in Passive transport by aquaporins — medium confidence
- AQP3 participates in Formation of the cornified envelope — medium confidence
- FLG participates in Formation of the cornified envelope — medium confidence
- Passive transport by aquaporins associated with Stratum corneum hydration — medium confidence
- Formation of the cornified envelope associated with Stratum corneum hydration — medium confidence
- Passive transport by aquaporins associated with Desquamation — medium confidence
- Formation of the cornified envelope associated with Desquamation — medium confidence
- Stratum corneum hydration studied in Studied for dryness and roughness endpoints — medium confidence
- Desquamation studied in Studied for dryness and roughness endpoints — medium confidence
Biological pathways
Passive transport by aquaporins
medium confidenceGlycerol and water transport in .
Reactome R-HSA-432047
Formation of the cornified envelope
medium confidenceNatural moisturising factor content of .
Reactome R-HSA-6809371
Evidence engine
Limited
Mostly mechanistic, animal or single-study evidence.
Skinceptor Evidence Index
25
experimental · of 100
This index is a research-navigation aid describing how much evidence exists and how it was produced. It is not a medical safety score, an efficacy guarantee, or a clinical recommendation.
Study composition
- Animal1
- In-vitro1
- Review2
- Total studies
- 4
- Human studies
- 0
- Largest sample
- Data unavailable
- Range
- 2002–2018
Index breakdown
- Study design quality38% × 28%
Mean design weight across curated studies (meta-analysis 1.0, RCT 0.9, other human 0.7, review 0.45, animal 0.35, in-vitro 0.25).
- Human evidence share0% × 22%
Proportion of curated evidence measured in people rather than cells or animals.
- Evidence volume73% × 14%
Log-scaled count of curated studies, so volume alone cannot dominate the score.
- Largest sample size0% × 12%
Log-scaled largest reported sample size across curated human studies.
- Replication0% × 12%
Independent human studies, capped at three; one study is never treated as replicated.
- Recency60% × 7%
Linear decay over a twenty-year window from the most recent curated publication.
- Source traceability0% × 5%
Share of curated studies with a verified PMID or DOI in this dataset.
Insufficient comparable evidence for quantitative synthesis.
Research timeline
How the evidence accumulated
2002
Glycerol and aquaporin-3 in epidermal water transport
Animalsample size unavailable · Journal of Biological Chemistry
2008
Filaggrin degradation products and natural moisturising factor content of the stratum corneum
In-vitrosample size unavailable · Journal of Investigative Dermatology
2012
Natural moisturising factor composition and stratum corneum hydration
Reviewsample size unavailable · Journal of Investigative Dermatology (review)
2018
Urea in dermatology: hydration and keratolysis by concentration
Reviewsample size unavailable · Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology (review)
Ingredient fingerprint
12 nodes · 18 relationships · seed "urea"
The fingerprint is a deterministic visual signature: ridge amplitude comes from the number of entities in each tier, node placement from identifier hashes, and opacity from confidence. Two ingredients can never produce the same figure unless their networks are identical.
Open in Biology as Art →Research
4 curated studies
Urea in dermatology: hydration and keratolysis by concentration
Summarises concentration-dependent behaviour of urea, humectant at low percentages and keratolytic at higher percentages.
Limitations — Narrative review without quantitative synthesis.
Natural moisturising factor composition and stratum corneum hydration
Summarises filaggrin proteolysis as the source of pyrrolidone carboxylic acid and its contribution to corneocyte water binding.
Limitations — Review; does not evaluate topical sodium PCA products; identifier not verified during curation.
Filaggrin degradation products and natural moisturising factor content of the stratum corneum
Demonstrates that filaggrin proteolysis by caspase-14 and downstream enzymes generates pyrrolidone carboxylic acid and urocanic acid.
Limitations — Ex-vivo/in-vitro; identifier not verified during curation.
Glycerol and aquaporin-3 in epidermal water transport
Aquaporin-3 null mice showed reduced stratum corneum glycerol and impaired hydration, restored by glycerol administration.
Limitations — Animal knockout model; identifier not verified during curation.
Community evidence
Submitted by readers
Reader submissions appear here only after review. They are not part of the curated dataset and do not affect the Skinceptor Evidence Index.
No approved community submissions yet.
Sources
- PubChem 1176Verified 2026-09-14
- UniProt Q92482Verified 2026-09-14
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