# LCN ## Facts | | | |---|---| | Founded | 1985 | | Origin | Germany | | Headquarters | Eltville am Rhein (Martinsthal), Hesse | | Owner | Wilde Cosmetics GmbH | | Status | Active | | Manufacturing | Germany | | Distribution | Multi-channel | | Website | https://www.lcn-shop.de/ | LCN is a German professional nail-care brand made by Wilde Cosmetics GmbH, a family-owned cosmetics company based in the Rheingau region of Hesse. The brand dates from 1985, when Michael Kalow re-founded Wilde Cosmetics and set about adapting light-curing resins from the dental industry for use on fingernails [3]. Over four decades it has grown from nail gels into a broad studio range covering nail design, hand and foot care, spa treatments, permanent make-up and salon equipment. LCN is aimed chiefly at nail technicians and beauty studios, and pairs its gel and acrylic systems with training courses. The brand is active, with new seasonal collections released through 2026, and its parent company is still run by the Kalow family. ## Origin & founders LCN's story starts not in cosmetics but in dentistry. Its owner company traces its roots to the Wilde Zahnfabrik, a dental-products factory founded in 1914. Dental work had long relied on plastics that harden under light. In 1985 Michael Kalow re-established the business as Wilde Cosmetics GmbH and took those light-curing materials in a new direction: shaping and strengthening fingernails. The name reflects that origin, although accounts of what the letters stand for differ. The owner's company timeline expands LCN as "LightConceptNails" [3]. An Irish spa blog that profiled the brand in 2010 gave the expansion as "Light Cured Nails" [6]. Both versions point to the same idea: nails built from material that sets under light rather than drying in the air. The same 2010 profile presented LCN as the first non-acrylic alternative to conventional nail cosmetics, a positioning relayed from the brand itself [6]. LCN makes a related claim on its own website today, describing itself as the inventor of UV-gel technology [2]. No independent historical account confirms either statement, and both are best read as the company's own view of its place in the history of gel nails. Michael Kalow remains part of the business. He is listed alongside Marius and Henrik Kalow as a managing director of Wilde Cosmetics GmbH. ## History & milestones International expansion came early. According to the owner's timeline, Wilde Cosmetics entered the United States and Asia in 1993, and by 1999 its products were distributed in 50 countries [3]. These figures describe the company as a whole rather than LCN alone, though LCN was its founding line. Through the 2000s and 2010s the company built a family of brands around LCN, described under Ownership below. In 2017 the second generation, Marius and Henrik Kalow, joined the business, a step the company highlights as part of its identity as an owner-managed firm. The LCN range itself broadened well beyond its first light-cured gels. By 2010 the brand already offered natural-nail, hand, foot and spa products. It had also moved into acrylics, while promising more flexibility and less yellowing than traditional acrylic systems. Its spa line was then described as based on Indonesian holistic therapy, with extracts such as water lily, white tea, mint, orchid and aloe, and a microdermabrasion treatment for the hands was part of the offer. Today LCN describes itself as having served the professional cosmetics market for more than 40 years, a figure it places prominently on its shop. ## Ownership LCN belongs to Wilde Cosmetics GmbH, which trades as the Wilde Group. Wilde Cosmetics is named as the operator of LCN's own shop. LCN was never bought in from outside: it was the company's founding product line, and the brand has stayed with the same owner since 1985. The group says it has been owner-managed throughout that time, with a lean organisation and flat hierarchies. It employs around 160 people at sites in Eltville am Rhein/Martinsthal, Düsseldorf and Weiler in Austria. Around LCN the group has assembled a portfolio through acquisitions. It took over Monteil International Cosmetics GmbH in 2006, the natural-cosmetics brand LaNature in 2013, alessandro international GmbH in 2022, and a majority stake in Miss Sophie GmbH in 2023 [3]. In 2007 it also set up Yoida Cosmetics GmbH as a contract manufacturer of cosmetic products. The group's brand list now names Alessandro, Miss Sophie, LCN, Monteil and Costrade as its labels. At group level, the company says it offers more than 3,000 products and works with long-standing distribution partners in over 60 countries. It also states that about 95 percent of its range is made in Europe, much of it in its own plants in Germany and Austria. Two addresses appear for the company. LCN's legal imprint, like the contact details on the group website, gives the seat as Große Hub 2 in Eltville am Rhein/Martinsthal [5]. The group website's footer, however, still lists an address in Oestrich-Winkel, and an Austrian online pharmacy describes LCN as a family company from Oestrich-Winkel [9]. The imprint is the company's formal legal statement of its seat. ## Philosophy & positioning LCN pitches itself first to professionals. Its shop describes the gel and acrylic systems as developed "by professionals for professionals", and its tagline, "Von Profis. Für dich." ("From professionals. For you."), carries the same message to a wider audience. The company calls LCN more than a brand: a partner for the nail technician's studio, career and passion. The owner frames this under the motto "My Beauty Partner". It presents the phrase as a promise to accompany, support and inspire customers as partners on an equal footing. The values LCN lists for itself are professional quality, its character as a family business, personal support and training, and innovation paired with responsibility. Training is a large part of that partnership. LCN runs seminars, tutorials and live sessions through the LCN Beauty School. The group's beauty schools cover nails, hands, feet, medical beauty and permanent make-up, with a path that runs from basic courses up to a "Cosmetic Expert" level. The group presented this training route in a lecture at the BEAUTY DÜSSELDORF trade fair [8]. The brand works across several channels at once. Studio concepts, professional supplies and courses sit alongside products for care at home, and the shop offers both professional accounts and ordinary customer sales. ## Products & innovation UV gels remain at the heart of the range. The company says all of its UV gels are created entirely by its own research and development department, and that every LCN product is developed, tested and produced in Germany. The catalogue spans premium and basic UV-gel systems for bonding, building, French manicures, camouflage and sealing. Alongside them sit UV-gel polishes, coloured and effect gels, an acrylic-gel system called Fusion Poly-Acryl Gel, and conventional nail polish. Among the products LCN highlights as bestsellers are Super Gel 3 in 1, the Bondique Black Diamond building gel, Magic Top Coat and the Super Light Unit, a lamp for curing gels. Wilde-Pedique is a UV gel developed specifically for toenails. An Irish beauty trade site, demonstrating a toenail reconstruction with it, described the product as a non-porous, ultra-flexible gel containing piroctone olamine, and noted that it was available in the UK through Beauty Concepts International [7]. Newer launches lean toward easier use at home. WOW Gel Polish is marketed as a gel-style polish that needs no UV lamp. According to the brand, the two-step system gives a glossy gel finish lasting up to ten days when paired with its own top coat, and it can be removed without acetone. Beyond nails, LCN sells hand, foot and nail care, an SPA care line, paraffin treatments, waxing and sugaring products, lash extensions and permanent make-up. Its studio equipment runs from lamps, drills and brushes to manicure tables and chairs. For its nail-care products the brand names hyaluronic acid, keratin, D-biotin, Bel Even and caffeine as ingredients meant to care for the nail plate. LCN's own statements on ingredients and ethics vary in strength. Its about page says its products are HEMA-free, vegan and dermatologically tested [2]. The FAQ on its homepage is more cautious, saying that the majority of its products are vegan [1]. The company also says it consistently avoids animal testing and values environmentally conscious production. It has not published measurable sustainability targets, and no third-party certifications are documented. ## Current status LCN is active. Its shop lists winter 2026 novelties, including the trend collection "Violet Pulse" and a limited "Cocoa Powder" edition, following summer and autumn 2026 collections such as "Golden Lotus" and "Blush" [1]. Beyond its German base, the brand has been sold in the UK and Ireland, and it belongs to a group whose products reach more than 60 countries. Its current country coverage on its own is not stated. ## Timeline {#belagg-timeline} | Year | Event | Source | |---|---|---| | 1914 | Wilde dental factory (Wilde Zahnfabrik) founded — predecessor of the owner company | https://www.wilde-group.com/de/ | | 1985 | Wilde Cosmetics GmbH re-founded by Michael Kalow; light-curing dental resins adapted for cosmetics, launching LCN | https://www.wilde-group.com/de/ | | 1993 | Wilde Cosmetics market entry in the USA and Asia | https://www.wilde-group.com/de/ | | 1999 | Wilde Cosmetics GmbH products distributed in 50 countries | https://www.wilde-group.com/de/ | | 2006 | Parent Wilde Group took over Monteil International Cosmetics GmbH (LCN itself not acquired) | https://www.wilde-group.com/de/ | | 2013 | Parent Wilde Group took over natural-cosmetics brand LaNature | https://www.wilde-group.com/de/ | | 2017 | Second generation (Marius and Henrik Kalow) joins the owner company | https://www.wilde-group.com/de/ | | 2022 | Parent Wilde Group took over alessandro international GmbH | https://www.wilde-group.com/de/ | | 2023 | Parent Wilde Group took a majority stake in Miss Sophie GmbH | https://www.wilde-group.com/de/ | | 2026 | Winter 2026 novelties incl. trend collection 'Violet Pulse' and 'Cocoa Powder' limited edition shown on the shop | https://www.lcn-shop.de/ | ## Signature products {#belagg-products} - **Super Gel 3 in 1** — ENTDECKE UNSERE BESTSELLER — https://www.lcn-shop.de/ - **Bondique Black Diamond – UV-Aufbau-Gel** — Bondique Black Diamond – UV-Aufbau-Gel — https://www.lcn-shop.de/ - **Magic Top Coat** — Magic Top Coat — https://www.lcn-shop.de/ - **Super Light Unit (LED/UV light device)** — Super Light Unit — https://www.lcn-shop.de/ - **Wilde-Pedique (UV gel for toenails)** — Specifically developed for toe nails, Wilde-Pedique a is non-porous, ultra-flexible gel, and contains Piroctone Olamine. — https://www.irishbeauty.ie:8443/treatment-of-the-month-toe-nail-reconstruction-with-lcn-wilde-pedique-uv-gel.html ## Key ingredients {#belagg-ingredients} Hyaluron (hyaluronic acid) · Keratin · D-Biotin · Bel Even · Caffeine Source: https://www.lcn-shop.de/ ## Mentioned in {#belagg-press} - **spas.ie – The Spa Blog (Ireland)** (2010) — Brand profile: origins in 1914 dental-resin research, Wilde Cosmetics GmbH, light-cured nail products, hand/foot/spa lines; stocked at Pangaea Day Spa (Dublin) and Seafield Golf & Spa Hotel (Wexford). — https://spas.ie/blog/lcn - **irishbeauty.ie – Treatment of the Month** — Step-by-step toe-nail reconstruction with LCN Wilde-Pedique UV gel; notes UK availability via Beauty Concepts International. — https://www.irishbeauty.ie:8443/treatment-of-the-month-toe-nail-reconstruction-with-lcn-wilde-pedique-uv-gel.html ## Sources 1. (T1) https://www.lcn-shop.de/ 2. (T1) https://www.lcn-shop.de/Unternehmen/UEber-LCN/ 3. (T2) https://www.wilde-group.com/de/ 5. (T2) https://www.lcn-shop.de/Bestellungen-Versand/Impressum/ 6. (T3) https://spas.ie/blog/lcn 7. (T3) https://www.irishbeauty.ie:8443/treatment-of-the-month-toe-nail-reconstruction-with-lcn-wilde-pedique-uv-gel.html 8. (T3) https://www.beauty.de/de/BEAUTY_full_NAILS 9. (T4) https://www.shop-apotheke.at/marken/lcn --- Glowpedia · · Published 2026-10-06 Please cite with a link to the article URL.