# Gerlasan ## Facts | | | |---|---| | Origin | Germany | | Headquarters | Lübbecke (seat of parent company Eduard Gerlach GmbH) | | Owner | Eduard Gerlach GmbH | | Status | Active | | Distribution | Multi-channel | | Website | https://www.gehwol.de/de_DE | Gerlasan is a German body-care brand produced by Eduard Gerlach GmbH, the family-owned company in Lübbecke, Westphalia, that also makes the GEHWOL foot-care range. The company presents Gerlasan, together with its sister brand Gerlavit, as the brands that extend its product range with body-care preparations [6]. The Gerlasan line is small and practical: a hand cream, a wash gel and an underarm product, plus a probiotic range shared with GEHWOL. Gerlasan has no corporate identity separate from its maker. It is sold within the GEHWOL product world, follows the same specialist-trade distribution, and its background is in effect the history of Eduard Gerlach GmbH, which traces its roots to 1868. The company has not published the year in which the Gerlasan name was introduced. The brand is active, with its products listed in the manufacturer's current range. ## History & milestones The story of the business behind Gerlasan begins in 1868, when Eduard Gerlach, a trained druggist, took over his father's colonial-goods shop in Lübbecke and added a drugstore to it [5]. In 1882 he brought out a cream made from unsaturated fatty acids, a medical soap and mineral lubricants, sold as E. Gerlach's Praeservativ-Cream. In its 150th-anniversary press release, the company describes this as the first industrially produced foot-care cream in the world [9]. The GEHWOL trademark followed in 1910, registered for the manufacture of pharmaceutical and chemical-technical preparations against sore and sweaty feet [5]. In 1961 the company launched GEHWOL FUSSKRAFT, a series made exclusively for foot-care practices, and from 1965 it added an equipment division, GERLACH TECHNIK, to serve the growing market for professional foot-care services. A small detail of the company's identity is its key symbol. The keys come from the coat of arms of the town of Lübbecke, and the company says it received the town's permission to use them, as a sign of product quality and of its ties to the town. Eduard Gerlach GmbH marked its 150th anniversary in 2018. At that point the company described itself as having grown from Eduard Gerlach's pharmacy into a mid-sized business with 160 employees, and said its products and technology were available in more than 50 countries [9]. Within this long history, Gerlasan appears as one of several product ranges on the company's portfolio, alongside GEHWOL, GEHWOL MED, GEHWOL PROFESSIONAL and Gerlavit. ## Ownership Gerlasan is owned by Eduard Gerlach GmbH, a family company registered in Lübbecke, Germany [10]. Its managing directors are Jobst-Peter Gerlach-v. Waldthausen, Timor Gerlach-v. Waldthausen and Jarek Raby. The 2018 anniversary release named Timor Gerlach-von Waldthausen as the seventh generation of the family to run the company [9]. In that release, the company listed its two brands as GEHWOL and GERLACH TECHNIK; Gerlasan is positioned as a range within the GEHWOL product world rather than as a stand-alone business. Its closest sibling is Gerlavit, which shares a range page with Gerlasan on the manufacturer's site. Eduard Gerlach GmbH describes itself as one of the few owner-led traditional houses that are still based in Germany and both develop and manufacture their own products [9]. No acquisitions involving Gerlasan are documented. ## Philosophy & positioning Gerlasan has no published philosophy of its own. The shared Gerlavit and Gerlasan range page carries the heading "Qualität, über die Fußpflege hinaus", meaning "quality beyond foot care" [3]. The phrase sums up the brand's role: it takes a foot-care specialist's approach to other parts of the body, such as the hands and underarms. The parent company's own values frame that approach. Eduard Gerlach GmbH states that its mission is to develop the market for professional foot care further [7], and it describes careful selection of raw materials and conscientious production as central to its work. Many of its products, the company says, are built on natural ingredients and essential oils. Distribution follows the parent's model. According to the company, its products are sold through specialist trade, meaning foot specialists and pharmacies [1], and it also runs its own online shop. ## Products & innovation The most fully described product is the Gerlasan Handcreme, a hand cream that the company says cares for and protects hands under strain, especially when they are often in contact with water [8]. Gerlach describes the formula as built on aloe vera, jojoba, tapioca and urea, with bisabolol to soothe the skin and panthenol to support its regeneration. The company also states that the cream contains antifungal and antimicrobial ingredients to protect the hands, and that it is suitable for people with diabetes. The hand cream is labelled as dermatologically tested and vegan, and is aimed at sensitive, normal, brittle and dry skin. It comes in several sizes, from a 40 ml tube to a 500 ml jar. No third-party certifications are documented for the brand. The rest of the core range is short. The Gerlasan Soft Waschgel is a wash gel for body cleansing, and Gerlasan achselfrisch, whose name means "underarm-fresh", is sold in a 150 ml bottle for underarm care. Gerlasan also appears in a co-branded line with the parent's main brand. The GEHWOL / GERLASAN balance range is presented by the company under the heading "probiotic care power" [4]. ## Current status Gerlasan is active. Its hand cream, wash gel and underarm product are listed on the manufacturer's Gerlavit and Gerlasan range page [3], and Eduard Gerlach GmbH continues to publish current company news, including its 2026 general catalogue. ## Timeline {#belagg-timeline} | Year | Event | Source | |---|---|---| | 1868 | Parent company context: druggist Eduard Gerlach takes over his father's colonial-goods business and adds a drugstore — origin of Eduard Gerlach GmbH (not the GERLASAN launch date). | https://www.gehwol.de/Unternehmen/Historie | | 1882 | Parent company context: Eduard Gerlach markets E. GERLACH'S PRAESERVATIV-CREAM. | https://www.gehwol.de/Unternehmen/Historie | | 1910 | Parent company context: the GEHWOL trademark is registered. | https://www.gehwol.de/Unternehmen/Historie | | 1961 | Parent company context: GEHWOL FUSSKRAFT launched, a line exclusively for foot-care practices. | https://www.gehwol.de/Unternehmen/Historie | | 1965 | Parent company context: GERLACH TECHNIK equipment division established. | https://www.gehwol.de/Unternehmen/Historie | | 2018 | Parent company context: Eduard Gerlach GmbH marks 150 years; press release names Timor Gerlach-von Waldthausen as the 7th generation running the company. | https://en.newsdesk.gehwol.de/pressreleases/eduard-gerlach-gmbh-150-years-of-everything-for-the-well-being-of-the-feet-3048173 | ## Signature products {#belagg-products} - **GERLASAN Handcreme** — pflegt und schützt strapazierte Hände intensiv, insbesondere bei häufigem Kontakt mit Wasser — https://www.gehwol.de/GERLASAN-Handcreme - **GERLASAN Soft Waschgel** — https://www.gehwol.de/Produkte/Praeparate/GERLAVIT-GERLASAN - **GERLASAN achselfrisch 150 ml Flasche** — https://www.gehwol.de/Produkte/Praeparate/GERLAVIT-GERLASAN - **GEHWOL / GERLASAN balance (product line)** — GEHWOL / GERLASAN balance ► Probiotische Pflege-Power — https://www.gehwol.de/Produkte/Praeparate/GEHWOL-GERLASAN-balance ## Key ingredients {#belagg-ingredients} Aloe vera · Jojoba · Tapioca · Urea · Bisabolol · Panthenol Source: https://www.gehwol.de/GERLASAN-Handcreme ## Sources 1. (T1) https://www.gehwol.de/de_DE 3. (T2) https://www.gehwol.de/Produkte/Praeparate/GERLAVIT-GERLASAN 4. (T2) https://www.gehwol.de/Produkte/Praeparate/GEHWOL-GERLASAN-balance 5. (T2) https://www.gehwol.de/Unternehmen/Historie 6. (T2) https://www.gehwol.de/Unternehmen/Philosophie 7. (T2) https://www.gehwol.de/Unternehmen/Mission 8. (T2) https://www.gehwol.de/GERLASAN-Handcreme 9. (T2) https://en.newsdesk.gehwol.de/pressreleases/eduard-gerlach-gmbh-150-years-of-everything-for-the-well-being-of-the-feet-3048173 10. (T2) https://www.gehwol.de/Impressum --- Glowpedia · · Published 2026-10-06 Please cite with a link to the article URL.