When most people think of German manufacturing, chances are, they picture engineers in white lab coats designing the latest Mercedes motor—not doctors, also in lab coats, brewing skin creams and face masks so sublime you want to eke them out, drop by precious drop.
But Germany is suddenly, perplexingly, at the epicenter of the skin-care business, with Leipzig, Dusseldorf, and Munich now vying with Paris and Seoul as a hub of excellence. Three German brands—Gezeiten, Bynacht, and Auteur—have recently launched in the U.S. to great enthusiasm. Dr. Barbara Sturm, Professor Augustinus Bader, you have company.
According to my eavesdropping on the beauty floor of Bergdorf Goodman, the most buzzed-about brand after Augustinus Bader is Gezeiten, German for “tides.” The products combine seaweed and marine minerals from the waters off the French coast of Brittany to replenish the skin barrier and support the skin’s microbiome. They are formulated to work with the body’s chronobiological rhythms, hence the reference to tides. “Chronobiology,” explains co-founder Michaela Hiltebrandt, “orchestrates our physiological and behavioral processes and our interactions with the environment.... Skin biorhythms are key, governing cellular processes, gene expression, circulation, and hormonal release.” Stress, blue light, jet lag—in other words, modern life—disrupt these rhythms and lead to premature aging. The line’s daytime products strengthen the skin’s defenses, while the nighttime regenerative products stimulate skin rejuvenation, reduce inflammation, and optimize hydration. At night, our skin needs extra moisture, which the line addresses with its popular box of 7-Day Ampoules. Even if they do nothing else, they leave the skin looking remarkably fresh.
Gezeiten’s founders aren’t alone in yearning for their beauty sleep. Jessica Hoyer, the founder of the Hamburg-based line Bynacht, added lavender oil to the company’s Perfect Nacht Sleeping Balm. “Sleep deprivation leads to an increased secretion of cortisol, a hormone that degrades collagen, affects elasticity, and prevents the repairs of the skin barrier,” she says. She claims that the Iconic Reborn Radiant Serum, with hexapeptide 8 complex, inhibits the contraction of certain muscles to prevent the formation of lines and wrinkles, which sounds like wishful thinking. Hoyer calls it “green Botox.”
Auteur, a new line from Munich, subliminally links its performance to that of high-speed cars, suggesting its biotech-sourced ingredients are optimized to “accelerate” cellular repair and are “powered” by German technology. Perhaps this (partly) explains the eye-watering cost—$1,190 for a 1.7-ounce bottle of its Composition No. 1 Serum, which claims to boost the bioavailability of peptides by 90 percent by encapsulating and stabilizing them so that they stay active within the skin for up to 24 hours.
So why are these German brands, which are selling briskly on Net-a-Porter and at Neiman Marcus counters all over the U.S., making such a splash? It’s likely they’ve benefited from the starlight surrounding Dr. Barbara Sturm and Professor Augustinus Bader. Sturm founded her line in 2014 and sold a majority stake earlier this year to Puig for a rumored $200 million. Bader’s line, created six years ago by Charles Rosier, a French financier, and Bader, a physician and professor of applied stem-cell biology and cell technology at the University of Leipzig, was valued at about $1 billion in 2022. Almost out of the gate, both gained a cult-like following. (The Bader Body Cream makes a recent cameo in Challengers, when Tashi, the tennis champion portrayed by Zendaya, slathers it on her legs.)
These indulgent, expensive creams and serums depart from Germany’s skin-care past as a birthplace for modestly priced workhorses, including Weleda and Dr. Hauschka. According to Sarah Brown, chief brand officer of online beauty retailer Violet Grey, “Germany always had its place in beauty, but, in the past, it was known for holistic skin care. In recent years, there’s been a shift to clinical, high-performance doctor-led brands, and the authority of the founders, like Augustinus Bader, now really matters to consumers.”
Munich-based dermatologist Dr. Timm Golueke, founder of the German skin-care line Royal Fern, says, “Germans like rules, standards, and exacting precision. Our manufacturing is not only highly regulated, but E.U. standards, which are stricter on topicals than U.S. standards, also inspire confidence in international consumers.” He formulates Royal Fern using extracts of the Osmunda regalis fern, which has exceptional resistance to UV radiation while also retaining high levels of moisture. As for standards, Dr. Golueke insists on supervising the growing conditions of his ferns.
While this might not sound as complicated as building a 637-horsepower Audi engine, it may suggest that Germany is becoming a powerhouse in yet another industry. And this one is just getting started.
Aleksandra Crapanzano is a New York-based writer. Her most recent book is Gateau: The Surprising Simplicity of French Cakes
