Dr. Hauschka Skin Care is a premium natural skincare brand from Germany, operating now for over 50 years. They not only make a positive impact on the health of our skin but also on the planet. Their cosmetics are free from silicones, polyethylene glycols (commonly referred to has PEGs) and synthetic preservatives, and instead contain 100% raw materials, the majority of which are organic, and often even Demeter certified. Demeter Biodynamic Certification is the strictest of its kind within organic farming. It ensures that ingredients come from biodynamic agriculture; in other words, farmed and processed in a way that is completely committed to the care of nature. Dr. Hauschka’s skincare and makeup lines are also certified by NATRUE, a third-party organisation that ensures the authenticity and transparency of the brand. For vegan lovers, the company offers an accessible list of its available vegan products.

Most of raw materials Dr. Hauschka uses are harvested manually from their medicinal plant garden in the fields of their farm in the Swabian Alps, or by trusted partners from all over the world.

FARM-TO-SKIN: NATURE AND RESEARCH

Since 1967, Dr. Hauschka Skin Care has been providing 100% certified natural and effective cosmetics that are made in harmony with the rhythms of nature and, more importantly, with the rhythms of our skin. What started with Rudolf Hauschka and Elisabeth Sigmund in a Swabian spa town was the beginning of a small cosmetic revolution that is now, in 2021, mandatory for our skin. 

The heart of the company is a medicinal plant garden located directly behind the main company building in Eckwälden, Germany. There they cultivate around 150 different medicinal plants according to biodynamic principles. The seeds for sowing, the compost and the soil for cultivation are produced in house. The gardeners sow and harvest the plants in harmony with the rhythms of nature, taking advantage of the power of natural polarity: the rhythmic alternation between light and dark, cold and heat, movement and rest. The rhythms of the seasons also mark the work calendar in the medicinal plant garden. Gardeners spread plant materials to promote the composting process and to strengthen the plants so that they are able to defend themselves against the action of parasites and diseases. Manual labour is essential. The results are vigorous, healthy plants from which Dr. Hauschka makes its extracts, essences and tinctures. The company explains: "We rhythmically prepare our mixtures and shake our preparations, for example, for the preparation of skin cures."

"Inventiveness has a long tradition with us. It began with the development of our unique rhythmic manufacturing process by Dr. Rudolf Hauschka. Today we complement ancient knowledge with the latest technology. Our laboratories continue to intensively research the fundamentals of herbal active ingredients and use them to develop new and effective formulations” - the company explains.

 

RESPECTING THE SKIN'S RHYTHM

The individual compositions of each medicinal plant used in Dr. Hauschka’s products provide each skin type with an effective stimulus every day, whether for cleansing or strengthening, through skincare or makeup. These products not only beautify, but they also care for our skin and its rhythm. That is why its stable cream bases without synthetic chemical emulsifiers and its fragrances based on blends of natural essential oils have been selling so successfully on the market since 1967.

Like all other living organisms, human bodies know and live by different rhythms. Our skin, for example, renews itself every 28 days and behaves differently in the morning than it does in the evening when it regenerates. These are the rhythms with which Dr. Hauschka harmonises its cosmetics. By addressing the skin as a holistic organ and stimulating its natural functions, Dr. Hauschka products encourage skin to exercise the power of self-regeneration. To this end, the brand’s products nourish and moisturise during the day, whereas at night they “don’t cover your skin with a thick layer of oil, but let it breathe” with oil-free treatments that do not disturb the skin's natural metabolic processes. Whether for facial care, body care or makeup, Dr. Hauschka products are highly effective. Dr. Hauschka also offers various treatments carefully tailored to different skins. Their estheticians use deep relaxation and effective stimuli to reveal the skin’s natural inner beauty.

TRANSMITTING KNOWLEDGE TO COMMUNITIES 

Beyond its medicinal garden, Dr. Hauschka sources its raw materials from biodynamic or controlled organic cultivation in other countries where the quality of the desired plants is top-notch. They collaborate with many of their suppliers on the basis of pre-established ethical fair trade partnerships. It is not only an ecological mission but also a social one. For instance, Dr. Hauschka supports Damask rose farms in Afghanistan that offer families an alternative livelihood to the otherwise rampant opium trade industry (80% of the world’s heroin comes from Afghanistan). This project was originally an initiative of the German Aid Against Hunger organisation, and since then the Afghan tradition of producing rose oil has been revived. Since 2004, some 700 Afghan farmers have been cultivating Damask roses for the extraction of its precious oil to be used in Dr. Hauschka products. 

Thanks to these ecologically and socially impactful partnerships, Dr. Hauschka is able to use rose essential oil from Afghanistan as well as Ethiopia, ice plant extracts from South Africa's Cape of Good Hope; organic castor oil from India, and the list goes on. 

"We are happy to pass on our know-how by initiating and promoting numerous organic farming projects in many countries around the world that need them."

 

SUSTAINABILITY AS THE COMPANY PHILOSOPHY 

Long before the commercial concept of sustainability emerged, Dr. Hauschka was already embodying its principles. Their raw materials are sourced almost exclusively from controlled organic cultivation and, wherever possible, are of biodynamic and fair trade quality. They also save resources wherever possible, having used 100% renewable energy for years, using heat recovery and the earth's natural temperature for air conditioning, offering company bicycles to their employees and encouraging public transport and car-sharing for employees to get to work. In addition, the company belongs to the WALA foundation, which means that profits earned by the company flow to the foundation where they are put into long-term investments, with funds ultimately being redistributed to employees. And biodiversity is also being promoted. The company's own areas have been made biodiverse and a biodiversity trail has been created around the laboratory building, which is open to the public.

Dr. Hauschka also thinks and works with the life cycles of materials in mind, particularly when it comes to treating water, composting production waste and using recyclable packaging. In fact, the brand is currently working on improving their recyclable makeup packaging.

All images © Dr. Hauschka