# Diaderma ## Facts | | | |---|---| | Founded | 1905 | | Origin | Germany | | Headquarters | Heidelberg | | Status | Active | | Manufacturing | Germany | | Distribution | Multi-channel | | Website | https://www.diaderma.de/ | Diaderma is a German skincare brand based in Heidelberg, founded in 1905 by the naturopath and anthroposophist M.E.G. Gottlieb [2]. It belongs to M.E.G. Gottlieb Diaderma-Haus GmbH + Co. KG, a family-owned cosmetics manufacturer that also makes the natural-cosmetics brand ARYA LAYA [3]. The range is small and centred on face and body care built around plant ingredients, headed by a carrot cream and a carrot oil. The brand is notable less for novelty than for continuity. It has stayed in the hands of the same family for most of its history, still manufactures in Heidelberg, and has been sold in German drugstores since the early 1980s. The company presents itself around more than a century of experience rather than new technology, and it remains active today. ## Origin & founders According to the company, Gottlieb laid the cornerstone of the Diaderma house on 22 August 1905 [2]. He was a practising Heilpraktiker, the German term for a naturopath, and a follower of anthroposophy, a spiritual philosophy. Diaderma credits him with coining the idea of "skin health", a phrase the brand still uses to describe its purpose. The company's account of the founding is a practical one. Gottlieb, it says, was troubled by the poor condition of his patients' skin and looked to old recipes for a remedy. He combined olive oil with extracts of medicinal herbs to make what he called skin function oils, or Hautfunktionsöle. These oils were the first products sold under the Diaderma name, and they later grew into a broader body-care programme. The name itself comes from Greek and is usually rendered as "through the skin". The owning company's own history describes Gottlieb, whose full name was Max Eduard Georg Gottlieb, as an early figure in German natural cosmetics. That characterisation comes from the company rather than from an independent historian. ## History & milestones Gottlieb died in 1923. He had no heirs, and the business passed to Clara Schmalz, who had worked for him for many years [8]. The Schmalz family has owned the company ever since. The next major change came in 1970, when the Diaderma house acquired ARYA LAYA [8]. That brand had a parallel history. It was founded in Hannover, also in 1905, by Fritz Bräutigam, and its name is said to come from Sanskrit for "bearer of beauty". ARYA LAYA had already been working to the standards of the German Reformhaus, the traditional health-food store, and after the acquisition it became the company's dedicated health-food-store line. Diaderma, by contrast, went down the mass-market route. The company states that its products have been available in almost every German drugstore since 1983 [5]. A rare outside view of the business comes from 2011, when Baden-Württemberg's environment minister, Tanja Gönner, toured the plant with the local state parliamentarian Werner Pfisterer. His account of the visit describes a long-established Heidelberg firm with 31 employees, producing more than 100 articles in-house at its site in the Wieblingen district and shipping them worldwide [10]. The same report notes that the state had commended the company for its flexible working hours. In 2025 the brand reached 120 years since its founding date. ## Ownership Diaderma is owned and made by M.E.G. Gottlieb Diaderma-Haus GmbH + Co. KG, registered in Mannheim and headquartered at Am Taubenfeld in Heidelberg [3]. The firm is a limited partnership in which a family holding company, Schmalz-Beteiligungs-GmbH, acts as the personally liable partner; this is a feature of its German legal form rather than a sign of a larger corporate parent. No conglomerate or outside investor is known to stand behind the brand. According to the owning company's sister-brand website, the shareholders are the siblings Dr. Wolf-Dieter Schmalz and Brigitte Bethke-Jaenicke. The current managing directors are Dr. Wolf-Dieter Schmalz and Christin Lüdemann [3]. In 2011 the management was listed as Klaus Bethke-Jaenicke and Dr. Wolf-Dieter Schmalz. Dr. Schmalz is also credited with developing a long-running ARYA LAYA product, the "Fett-Feucht Balancer", in 1984. The company's only other brand is ARYA LAYA, which it describes as certified natural cosmetics sold through health-food stores and its own online shop. The two lines are produced side by side in Heidelberg, where the company now says it employs around 40 people. ARYA LAYA's natural-cosmetics seals apply to that brand alone; they are not documented for Diaderma. ## Philosophy & positioning Diaderma's tagline is "Liebe geht durch die Haut", or "love goes through the skin". Its mission line, set under the heading "since 1905", says the brand gives skin what it needs: natural care for a healthy complexion. The company describes its approach as one of restraint. Its homepage says that it does without a great deal for the sake of good care, but never without its strict standards. In practice that list of standards includes: - no petrochemical ingredients such as paraffins; - no synthetic dyes and no microplastics; - no raw materials taken from dead animals; - ingredients sourced regionally where possible and otherwise from Fair Trade suppliers; - organic cultivation where possible. The brand says it uses "100% natural ingredients" and states plainly that it does not test on animals. On vegan formulation, the brand's two main pages differ. The German "about" page says that most of its care products are vegan, which implies that some are not [2]. The homepage, however, lists "vegan" without qualification among its quality standards [1]. The narrower statement on the about page is the more specific of the two. Diaderma also places weight on where its products are made. The company says all of its cosmetics are tested and manufactured in Germany, and its jobs page describes it as a business that keeps up tradition while staying open to new ideas. Its own pitch leans on experience: the homepage heading calls it "the basis of good skin care: over 100 years of experience". ## Products & innovation The current Diaderma range is compact, with five product lines across face and body care. - **Karotten-Creme plus Q10** (carrot cream). Described by the company as protection and strength for stressed skin, for day and night use. It combines coenzyme Q10 with carrot extract, a source of provitamin A, orange extract for vitamin C, and plant-derived vitamin E. - **Karotten-Öl plus Q10** (carrot oil). A facial oil that the brand says leaves a fresh complexion and smooth, supple skin. - **Hafer-Creme mit Hyaluron** (oat cream with hyaluronic acid). A moisturiser built around oat, which the company presents as a hydrating, skin-building ingredient. - **Citro Body Oil**. A body oil of mild plant oils with a lemon scent, intended to hold moisture in the skin. - **Pickelbreak** (also written Pickel-Break). An anti-blemish line with tea tree oil, which is antiseptic, plus provitamin B5 and liquorice root. The routine includes a cleansing foam, a cream gel and a spot stick. The two carrot products lead the range on the brand's own pages and share the same pairing of carrot extract and coenzyme Q10. Diaderma says its products are "clinically tested and dermatologically confirmed" [1], but it does not publish the studies behind that statement. It also refers to "innovative active-ingredient combinations" without naming any proprietary technology. No patents, research partnerships or third-party certifications are documented for the brand. ## Current status Diaderma is active. Its website is maintained in German and English and lists the current range, and in October 2026 it carried open full-time positions in production and shipping at the Heidelberg site [6]. The brand is sold mainly through drugstores. It does not publish dated news on its website and does not link to any social media accounts. ## Timeline {#belagg-timeline} | Year | Event | Source | |---|---|---| | 1905 | 22 August 1905: naturopath and anthroposophist M.E.G. (Max Eduard Georg) Gottlieb founds the Diaderma house in Heidelberg | https://www.diaderma.de/ueber-diaderma/ | | 1923 | Gottlieb dies without heirs; the company passes to his longtime employee Clara Schmalz (Schmalz family ownership since) | https://www.arya-laya.de/ueber-uns/historie/ | | 1970 | M.E.G. Gottlieb Diaderma-Haus acquires ARYA LAYA, which becomes the company's reform-house (health food store) brand | https://www.arya-laya.de/ueber-uns/historie/ | | 1970 | Diaderma's owner M.E.G. Gottlieb Diaderma-Haus acquired ARYA LAYA (founded 1905 in Hannover by Fritz Bräutigam) | https://www.arya-laya.de/ueber-uns/historie/ | | 1983 | Diaderma products become available in German drugstores ('in almost every drugstore since 1983') | https://www.diaderma.de/en/ueber-diaderma/ | ## Signature products {#belagg-products} - **Karotten-Creme plus Q10** — Schutz und Kraft für gestresste Haut. Tag und Nacht. Mit Coenzym Q10, mit Karotten-Extrakt (mit Provitamin A), Orangen-Extrakt (mit Vitamin C) und pflanzlichem Vitamin E. — https://www.diaderma.de/produkte/ - **Karotten-Öl plus Q10** — Für einen frischen Teint und geschmeidig glatte Haut. — https://www.diaderma.de/produkte/ - **Hafer-Creme mit Hyaluron** — Baut auf und verwöhnt die Haut mit der Feuchtigkeit spendenden Kraft des Hafers. — https://www.diaderma.de/produkte/ - **Citro Body Oil** — Bewahrt die Feuchtigkeit in der Haut. Mit milden Pflanzenölen und dem belebenden Duft sonnengereifter Zitronen. — https://www.diaderma.de/produkte/ - **Pickelbreak (Pickel-Break)** — Sanft zur Haut, effektiv gegen Pickel. Mit antiseptischem Teebaumöl, Pro-Vitamin B5 und Süßholzwurzel. — https://www.diaderma.de/produkte/ - Cult status: **Karotten-Öl (carrot oil)** — German beauty blogs 2017-2018 describe a 'hype' around the long-standing drugstore carrot oil in beauty groups ('Überall wurde es angepriesen'); a commenter calls it an 'oldschool' product that suddenly became trendy. Tier-4 blog evidence only. — https://www.livingthebeauty.de/diaderma-karotten-oel-gesichtspflege/ ## Key ingredients {#belagg-ingredients} carrot extract (provitamin A) · coenzyme Q10 · orange extract (vitamin C) · plant vitamin E · oat · tea tree oil · provitamin B5 · liquorice root Source: https://www.diaderma.de/produkte/ ## Mentioned in {#belagg-press} - **konsumkaiser.com (German beauty blog)** (2017) — Review of Karotten-Creme as an inexpensive drugstore 'SOS' cream (~5 EUR); notes the dated 'Oma-Look' packaging — https://konsumkaiser.com/2017/02/27/skincare-karotte-zur-uebergangszeit-diaderma-karotten-creme/ - **livingthebeauty.de (German beauty blog)** (2018) — 'Ist der Hype berechtigt?' review of Karotten-Öl (30 ml, ~2.75 EUR at dm), describing it as widely praised in beauty groups — https://www.livingthebeauty.de/diaderma-karotten-oel-gesichtspflege/ - **pfisterer.net (website of former state MP Werner Pfisterer)** (2011) — Report of a company visit to M.E.G. Gottlieb Diaderma-Haus in Heidelberg-Wieblingen with Baden-Württemberg environment minister Tanja Gönner; 31 employees, over 100 articles produced in-house — https://www.pfisterer.net/2011/03/11/besuch-des-unternehmens-meg-gottlieb-diaderma-haus-gmbh-co-kg/ ## Sources 1. (T1) https://www.diaderma.de/ 2. (T1) https://www.diaderma.de/ueber-diaderma/ 3. (T2) https://www.diaderma.de/impressum/ 5. (T2) https://www.diaderma.de/en/ueber-diaderma/ 6. (T2) https://www.diaderma.de/jobs/ 8. (T2) https://www.arya-laya.de/ueber-uns/historie/ 10. (T4) https://www.pfisterer.net/2011/03/11/besuch-des-unternehmens-meg-gottlieb-diaderma-haus-gmbh-co-kg/ --- Glowpedia · · Published 2026-10-05 Please cite with a link to the article URL.