Gema Herrerías

Gema Herrerías is a Spanish skincare brand founded in 2017 in Seville by the pharmacist of the same name [1]. Sold under the short name "gh", the line grew out of its founder's pharmacy practice and is built around the idea of pairing accessible cosmetics with demonstrated efficacy. The brand manufactures its own products in Seville and develops them at an in-house research centre.

The company positions itself within the Spanish tradition of dermofarmacia — skincare formulated and advised through pharmacies rather than sold purely as consumer cosmetics. Its products are distributed first and foremost through pharmacies, a channel the founder describes as the brand's priority [5].

Gema Herrerías trained as a pharmacist at the Universidad de Sevilla and has owned A5 Farmacia in Seville for more than two decades. According to a profile by the trade body Beauty Cluster, she created the brand in 2017 out of a wish "to add value to pharmaceutical advice" and to meet skincare needs she encountered daily among her patients [5]. The same account notes that her own experience with acne from adolescence motivated her to study the field more closely.

The regional newspaper La Voz de Almería records that she founded the cosmetics brand gh Gema Herrerías in 2017 and serves as its CVO, alongside her work as a pharmacy owner and a teacher at the University of Seville's Faculty of Pharmacy [6]. Although born in Seville, she has described family roots in the province of Almería as an important part of her personal history.

The brand summarises its approach as "accessible cosmetics, of proven efficacy, adapted to your Código Piel" — the Código Piel, or "skin code", being a method the company says it uses to translate scientific knowledge into personalised skincare routines [1]. Its public tagline, "Sin ruido. Sin promesas. Solo ciencia." ("No noise. No promises. Only science."), signals a deliberately understated, evidence-led stance.

Education sits at the centre of the brand's identity. In the Beauty Cluster interview, the founder frames the work as "educating before selling" and as a natural evolution of the pharmacist's role [5]. This extends beyond products: through Academia GH, the brand runs intensive courses for healthcare professionals in dermopharmacy and skin care, an activity the founder has offered since 2015. The founder has also authored or co-authored several books on skincare and dermopharmacy, including Código Piel and Radiografía de un cosmético.

The range covers cleansing, eye care, lotions and mists, barrier-function moisturisers, antioxidants, sun protection, intensive treatments, exfoliation and dietary supplements, alongside the founder's books. Its quality and environment policy describes a line of more than 30 references with efficacy that the company states is "proven, backed by clinical studies" [3].

Several products recur as the line's signatures, among them the Factor Invisible SPF50 sunscreen, the 1600 Retinal-Z Sérum, the Función Barrera Formula Plus moisturiser and the 12 Azelaic-N Sérum. These reflect two ingredients the brand leans on: retinal, marketed under its Retinal-Z naming, and azelaic acid, used in its Azelaic-N products.

The company treats sustainability as a cross-cutting criterion. On its homepage it states that it works with biodegradable raw materials, optimises its use of energy and resources, and "continuously reviews processes and packaging to reduce its carbon footprint" [1]. Its formal quality and environment policy references the UNE-EN ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015 standards for quality and environmental management.

The brand's public recognition is centred on its founder as a pharmacist and communicator rather than on the products themselves. The trade publication Correo Farmacéutico named her Pharmacist of the Year in 2013, Most Innovative Pharmacist in 2016 and Best Pharmacist 2.0 in 2018 [2]. Later honours, as listed on the brand's site, include a Digital Beauty Awards prize for best professional communicator (2021), recognition as a beauty influencer at the Consumer Choice Spain awards (2023), and inclusion in 2026 among El Español's "Top 100 Women Leaders in Spain" [2].

In 2024 she was included in a Forbes Women list as one of the 50 most relevant women in the aesthetics business — an entry independently reported by La Voz de Almería rather than self-published [6].

The brand is active. Its e-commerce site is live, the line carries more than 30 active references, and the company continues to manufacture in Seville. According to La Voz de Almería, distribution reached more than 1,500 pharmacies across Spain, Andorra and Portugal [6], making it a multi-region presence within the Iberian market. The most recent recognition tied to the brand and its founder dates to 2026 [2].