Excipial

Excipial is a Swiss skincare brand for dry and stressed skin, built around creams and lotions with varying levels of urea and lipids. It began as a product line of Spirig Pharma AG, a pharmaceutical company in Egerkingen in the canton of Solothurn, and by 2012 it ranked with the Daylong sun-care range as one of that company's two main sources of revenue [10].

The brand is no longer independent. In December 2012 the dermatology company Galderma signed a definitive agreement to acquire Spirig, and Excipial has since continued as a Galderma brand [8]. Its products are still marketed under the Excipial name, with the brand's German website published by a Galderma subsidiary [5].

Excipial's story is tied to Spirig Pharma AG, the Swiss company that developed and sold it. Spirig was founded in 1948 [10], but that date belongs to the company, not to the brand; the year Excipial itself was first launched is not documented in available sources, and no individual founders of the line are named.

What is clear is where the brand came from. A 2012 report in the Swiss regional newspaper Oltner Tagblatt described Excipial as "another well-known product from Egerkingen", placing it alongside Daylong as the products that carried most of Spirig's business. Spirig had built its reputation in pharmacy sun protection with Daylong, a water-resistant, high-factor sun cream; Excipial gave the company a second pillar in everyday care for dry skin.

By the early 2010s Spirig was reshaping itself. According to the Oltner Tagblatt, the company had sold its generic-medicines division in 2011 and intended to concentrate more heavily on dermatology. That sale made a restructuring of the remaining dermatology business necessary, and Spirig announced 15 job cuts in July 2012. The newspaper also reported that the company planned to keep selling through specialist outlets only, meaning drugstores and pharmacies [10].

Figures for Spirig's size at the time differ between sources. Galderma's announcement of the deal put the company's 2011 sales at CHF 98.4 million [8], while the Oltner Tagblatt reported 2011 turnover of 167 million francs, the second consecutive year of decline [10]. The two sources do not explain the difference.

On 12 December 2012, Galderma Pharma S.A. and Spirig Pharma AG announced a definitive agreement under which Galderma would acquire Spirig [8]. At that point Spirig employed 270 people in Switzerland and 120 abroad, and sold its products in 15 distribution markets. Galderma's release named Excipial, Daylong and Daylong Actinica as Spirig's principal brands, covering sun damage, the skin's protective barrier and the prevention of actinic keratosis, a skin condition linked to sun damage.

The dermatology trade publication Practical Dermatology reported the deal the following day, also listing Excipial among Spirig's main brands [9]. As of December 2012, the transaction was expected to close in early 2013, subject to customary conditions.

Excipial belongs to Galderma, which signed the agreement to buy its originating company, Spirig, in 2012. As part of the deal, Galderma said it planned to turn Spirig's site in Egerkingen into the headquarters of its Swiss market operations, while its global head office remained in Lausanne.

At the time, Galderma's chief executive, Humberto C. Antunes, said Spirig "has a holistic approach to protecting, treating, restoring and preventing dermatological conditions". Spirig's chief executive, Beat Sägesser, said that joining Galderma would allow Spirig to develop its business "to a new level".

Galderma itself was founded in 1981. It is a Swiss pharmaceutical company specialising in dermatological treatments and skin care, now based in Zug. It was formerly a subsidiary of L'Oréal and Nestlé, was bought by a consortium of private investors in 2019, and remained under their ownership until its stock market listing in 2024 [11]. Within Galderma, Excipial sits alongside other skincare names including Cetaphil and Actinica.

Excipial presents itself as a range of "medical care concepts" for the skin rather than as cosmetics. The company says its products are based on active ingredients in different concentrations, so that a formula can be matched to the condition of a particular patch of skin, whether that is dry skin on the body or face, hard-working hands or rough feet. Its German homepage frames the range as care for dry skin in both adults and children.

The brand's self-description leans on a narrative idea. Its tagline says that every skin tells its own story, and that with Excipial that story becomes a success. Behind the slogan, the positioning is practical: the range is organised by skin problem and by strength, not by trend or texture.

Excipial also emphasises its Swiss origin. According to the brand, all Excipial products are made exclusively in Switzerland [2]. It further states that the skin compatibility of its products has been dermatologically confirmed and that the products are recommended by dermatologists.

Historically, distribution has followed the pharmacy model. In 2012 Spirig stated that it would continue selling only through drugstores and pharmacies.

The range is built on two ingredient families. The first is urea, a substance found naturally in the skin that helps it hold on to water; the brand describes it as part of the skin's own moisture-retaining system. The second is lipids, the fatty substances that support the skin's outer barrier and help limit dryness. Excipial says it offers products with different urea concentrations and lipid levels to suit individual needs [7].

The urea line contains three body lotions. Excipial U Lipolotio is a body lotion with 4% urea for dry and rough skin, and it is joined by Excipial U Hydrolotio and Excipial U10 Lipolotio in the same series.

Hand care forms the second pillar, presented by the company as a hand-protection concept for work, household chores and leisure. Excipial Protect is a barrier cream designed to shield the hands against water, soaps and cleaning agents, and contains 27% lipids [4]. Excipial Repair is a regenerating cream for dry, stressed hands, and Excipial Repair Sensitive is a variant made without colourants or fragrances. The brand says its hand creams are oil-in-water emulsions that can be worn under gloves, and that they are suitable for use in the food industry.

A smaller basic-care line completes the range, made up of Excipial Hydrocreme and Excipial Lipocreme.

No third-party certifications, patents or published research partnerships are documented for the brand.

Excipial is an acquired brand that remains active. Following Galderma's 2012 agreement to acquire Spirig, it continues as part of Galderma's portfolio. As of October 2026, the brand's German website was live with its urea, hand and basic-care ranges, and its legal imprint named Galderma Laboratum GmbH in Düsseldorf as the publisher [5].