Faaborg Pharma

Faaborg Pharma is a Danish skincare company based in the market town of Faaborg, on the island of Funen. Founded in 2001 by the pharmacist Sten Grønved Nielsen, it makes creams, lotions and balms for normal, sensitive and what it calls "complicated" skin, all of them free of perfume and dyes [1][2]. The company sells chiefly through Danish pharmacies, online pharmacies and Matas stores, and remains active, with recent product launches and an expansion of its main line into the United Kingdom.

The brand describes its approach as "honest skincare with effect," summed up in the tagline Ærlig Hudpleje Til Hele Familien — honest skincare for the whole family. Its products are positioned as dermatologically oriented care for people whose skin reacts easily, including families with babies and children.

The company began with the pharmacist Sten Grønved Nielsen, who set out to give people with problem skin a better quality of life using mild, hypoallergenic products [3]. From that starting point he began mixing creams with different compositions and effects, gradually building out a range. Faaborg Pharma traces its founding to 2001 [3].

The business has stayed close to its origins. It is located in Faaborg with around 19 employees, and according to the company all of its products are designed, developed and produced locally under ISO-certified conditions. That emphasis on Danish manufacture is something the brand returns to directly: "It is not just a catchy slogan when we say that Faaborg Pharma is Made in Denmark" [3].

Faaborg Pharma frames itself around what it calls "traditional pharmacy values of clean and safe ingredients." The guiding idea, in the company's words, is that "skincare should help you — not bother you" [3]. In practice that means leaving things out: whatever the product, the company says, all of them "contain no perfume, dyes or unnecessary chemicals" [2].

The range is organised less by ingredient and more by skin condition — very dry, dry, itchy, red, irritated, cracked — and by body area, from face and hands to feet and a dedicated mother-and-baby line. Several products carry a "recommended by dermatologists" mark. The online pharmacy Webapoteket characterises the brand plainly as "Danish, dermatological skincare" offering allergy-friendly and mild products [6].

The brand's best-known product is the helo® creme, described on its own site as Faaborg Pharma's best seller [1]. Alongside it sit several series, including marselis, relief and a basic-care line, spanning creams, lotions, balms and sprays.

A more recent addition is helo® PSO, a series aimed at dry, itchy and flaky skin and scalp, and described as also suitable for skin prone to psoriasis [5]. Its creme and scalp gel are built around three active ingredients: boswellia, which the company says relieves discomfort from dry, flaky skin; vitamin B12, presented as reducing itching and promoting skin healing; and urea, used to strengthen the skin barrier and reduce water loss [5]. A PSO shampoo, added to the line and labelled as new, draws on panthenol, urea and salicylic acid.

Faaborg Pharma's certifications page lists several Danish and international quality marks, among them Allergy Certified, the Astma-Allergi Danmark allergy mark, a "dermatologically tested" mark, an ISO reference and a vegan certification [4]. The brand states that its products are "based on traditional pharmacy values of pure and safe ingredients" and that it adds "only the necessary active ingredients." Manufacturing is described as taking place in Faaborg under ISO-certified conditions.

Coverage of the brand has come mainly through Danish consumer and pharmacy channels. The consumer-test site Testfamilien reviewed the helo creme in 2020, reporting it favourably for very dry and irritated skin [7]. Webapoteket, as a retailer, places the brand within the category of Danish dermatological skincare for sensitive skin [6].

The company remains active. Its website carries a 2026 copyright, it has continued to launch products such as the helo® PSO shampoo, and it has expanded the helo® line into the United Kingdom through a dedicated store. Its core market remains Denmark, served through pharmacies and Matas.