Leyhs

Leyhs is a German line of skin-care ointments and creams made by Leyh-Pharma GmbH, a small pharmaceutical and cosmetics manufacturer in Brotterode-Trusetal on the edge of the Thuringian Forest. The range is built around traditional pharmacy formulas, several of them credited to a Thuringian paediatrician, Dr. Erfurth, and includes a baby ointment, a wound-care ointment and a newer group of urea, calendula and olive-oil products.

The manufacturer was founded by pharmacist Klaus-Dieter Leyh a few days after German reunification in 1990 [1]. Leyhs products are closely tied to ELASAN, the company's main cosmetics brand: pharmacy listings name Elasan as the brand and Leyh-Pharma GmbH as the manufacturer of Leyhs Babysalbe [7], and some tubes carry both names. The brand is active, with its products sold through online pharmacies, the company's own shop and a factory outlet.

Leyhs grew out of the company that pharmacist Klaus-Dieter Leyh set up in the Thuringian Forest shortly after reunification [1]. According to the company's own account, he wanted to use the new freedom to run a business to spread formulas that had already proved themselves, and to keep alive cosmetic brands that were at risk from much larger competitors from the West [1]. That aim of preserving established formulas still shapes how the company presents itself today.

The year 1990 follows from the company's wording rather than a stated number: it says only that the business was founded "a few days after reunification", which took place on 3 October 1990. That date belongs to the company; when the Leyhs name was first used on a product is not documented.

The company is registered with the district court in Jena and, according to its legal notice, is managed by Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Haarmann [3]. Its address is Im Beierstal in Brotterode-Trusetal, a municipality in the state of Thuringia [3].

Little of the company's history between 1990 and the present is documented publicly. Leyh-Pharma says that since its founding it has been able to secure many existing medicines and cosmetics and add new ones, and it describes itself as a small Thuringian company on a sound footing.

Part of that inheritance is the work of Dr. Erfurth, whom the company describes as a Thuringian paediatrician whose ideas still underpin some of its products. His name is attached to two Leyhs ointments. Leyhs Babysalbe is sold as a wound and baby ointment made to Dr. Erfurth's original recipe [7], and Leyhs Dr. Erfurth Salbe is likewise described as following his proven recipe.

The most visible recent step came in November 2025, when six Leyhs products were added to the company's online shop as a dedicated Leyhs collection. They were Body Lotion, Olivenöl Intensive Derma Care, Calendula Derma Care, Urea Derma Care 10%, Nutri Rich Derma Care and the Pedi-Care foot cream [6]. These "Derma Care" products added a small everyday body-care range alongside the ointments.

Leyh-Pharma presents its cosmetics as products made with the same care as its medicines. The company says its cosmetic preparations are produced to that standard in a committed, mid-sized manufactory, and that it puts quality ahead of quantity. Its company slogan, "Made in Thüringen", stresses the regional link, and the Leyhs product texts carry the line "Made in Germany".

Place plays a large part in the way the company tells its story. It describes Trusetal as a recognised health resort at the edge of the Thuringian Forest and suggests that the clear water in its cosmetics may once have flowed over the local Trusetal waterfall. According to the company, it uses medically treated spring water, often buys its cosmetic ingredients from the surrounding region, and even orders its tubes from the neighbouring town of Wasungen [1].

Leyh-Pharma also describes its working style as a mix of "high tech and handwork": a traditional manufactory using modern equipment. It frames its distance from large industrial cities as an advantage that helps the team concentrate on the work.

The positioning is that of pharmacy skin care rather than fashion cosmetics. Product texts focus on dry, sore or irritated skin, on babies' skin in the nappy area and on skin under pressure, and several products are described as free of fragrance or preservatives. These free-from claims apply to individual products rather than to the whole range: the Leyhs Body Lotion, for example, contains perfume.

The two ointments that carry Dr. Erfurth's name form the core of the range.

Leyhs Babysalbe is a zinc-free ointment for the nappy area. Its listed ingredients are petrolatum, lanolin, water, sunflower seed oil, glycerin and aluminium acetate tartrate, known in German as "essigsaure Tonerde". Retail descriptions say it soothes reddened baby skin and protects it from moisture, and that it contains no parabens, colourants, fragrance or preservatives. The tube itself carries the line "recommended by midwives" and reads "ELASAN, Leyhs Babysalbe" [8], which shows how the two brand names are combined on the shelf.

Leyhs Dr. Erfurth Salbe uses a very similar base of petroleum jelly, lanolin, water, sunflower oil, glycerin and aluminium acetate tartrate. It is described as care for skin at pressure and friction points, under nappies and in skin folds, and as help in preventing bedsores in people confined to bed. Pharmacy listings name Leyh-Pharma GmbH as the manufacturer, and the product appears in packaging under both the ELASAN and the Leyhs logo [9].

The Derma Care group added in 2025 is built around a few familiar ingredients:

- Urea Derma Care 10% combines 10 percent urea with lactic acid. The company says it supports skin renewal and helps with irritations such as psoriasis [6], presenting it as supportive care alongside treatment rather than as a medicine. - Calendula Derma Care is, according to the company, made to Dr. Erfurth's traditional recipe with a high share of marigold (calendula) extract, and is described as fragrance-free. - Olivenöl Intensive Derma Care is based on cold-pressed olive oil and is described as free of fragrance and preservatives. - Nutri Rich Derma Care is described as free of fragrance, colourants and preservatives. - Pedi-Care is a foot cream with urea that, the company says, reduces hardened skin and keeps feet moisturised for a long time.

Other ingredients that recur across the range include vitamin E, peanut oil, beeswax and lanolin. Some product texts note that they are made in Germany and enriched with beeswax.

No third-party certifications are documented for Leyhs. Behind the products, Leyh-Pharma holds a German licence to manufacture non-sterile liquid and semi-solid medicines for human use [1], and it also makes cosmetics and medicines for other companies under contract. The company says it specialises in small batches, from 40 kilograms of bulk product and from 100 filled units.

Leyhs is active. As of October 2026 the Leyhs collection was listed for sale in the company's online shop, which serves customers in Germany and Austria, and Leyhs Babysalbe and Dr. Erfurth Salbe were listed by online pharmacies [7]. The company also sells its care products through a factory outlet [2]. No press coverage, awards or social media accounts specific to Leyhs are documented.