Numis

Numis is a German skincare brand for sensitive and very dry skin, sold under the name numis® med. The company dates the brand to 1982 [4], and it belongs to the MANN & SCHRÖDER COSMETICS GROUP, a family-run personal-care manufacturer based in Siegelsbach, near Heilbronn [1]. Numis calls itself a "medical skin care brand" and divides its line into two main ranges: pH 5.5, for very sensitive skin, and UREA, for extremely dry skin.

According to the brand, every product in both ranges contains the same moisturising and soothing blend, the numis® care Complex. Numis is one of a handful of own brands in its parent group's portfolio, alongside the body-care label alkmene, the baby-care line sanosan and VANDINI [10]. Its products are made at the group's sites in Germany.

Numis began in 1982 as the medical skincare line of the Siegelsbach company. No individual is named as the founder of the brand itself. Its early identity was built around gentle cleansing: the company says Numis first became known for its pH 5.5 range, a set of pH-balanced cleansing products designed for people with sensitive skin.

The idea behind the range is straightforward. In the brand's own explanation, normal skin is slightly acidic, with a pH value of 5.5, and that acidity is part of what keeps it resistant to outside influences. Frequent showering or harsh cleansers can, the company argues, upset that balance and leave the skin irritable. Cleansers matched to the skin's own pH are meant to clean without weakening this natural defence.

The brand's timeline describes development "in collaboration with leading scientist[s]" from the start, and other pages refer to work with dermatologists and natural scientists. None of these collaborators is named. A dermatologist, Dr. Buder-Bakhaya, is quoted on the brand's homepage on the needs of sensitive skin, but is presented as a supporting voice rather than as a formal partner.

The parent company's own story reaches further back. In 1951 Hans Schröder founded "Mann & Schröder KG, Chemische Fabrik" in Siegelsbach together with the electrician Eugen Mann, at first making household cleaners [9]. The firm started aerosol production in 1958, launching a hairspray, and introduced its first body-care brand, alkmene, in 1968. In 1980, under Hans Schröder Junior, it began expanding its own brand portfolio and stopped producing cleaning agents. Numis followed two years later.

For almost three decades the pH line was the core of the brand. Between 1988 and 1995 the company carried out what it describes as continuous further development, including a relaunch of the packaging and design of what was then called the "pH-ideal range".

The second pillar arrived in 2010 with numis® med UREA, which the brand describes as its first special care range [3]. It was aimed at people with atopic dermatitis (a common form of eczema), psoriasis and diabetes, and at skin made dry by age, the environment or work. Urea is a moisture-binding substance; the company points out that it is one of the components already present in the skin's protective surface layer. The UREA products are offered in strengths ranging from 5% to 25%.

Investment in research and manufacturing followed. The brand's own history dates the opening of a new centre for research and development, quality assurance and process development at the Hüffenhardt site to 2015 [3]. The parent group's history instead gives 2019 as the year it inaugurated a large laboratory centre for research and quality assurance in Hüffenhardt, with seven laboratories over 500 square metres [9]. The two accounts may describe different buildings or construction phases. Hüffenhardt lies about 4 km from the Siegelsbach headquarters, and the group's production plant there, first opened in 2003, was expanded significantly around 2020, a step Numis presents under the heading "Made in Germany".

In February 2021 the brand went through what it calls a comprehensive relaunch and strategic repositioning [3]. Products in both the pH 5.5 and UREA ranges received new packaging and revised formulas. That relaunch is the latest dated event in the brand's published history.

Numis is part of the MANN & SCHRÖDER COSMETICS GROUP. By the group's own account, it makes more than 1,500 different products, sells them in almost 50 countries and generates annual revenue of more than 152.5 million euros. Christine Steger joined her father Hans Schröder as managing director in 2013 and became sole managing director in 2015, following his death.

The name of the owning company varies between sources. The brand's about page places Numis within the MANN & SCHRÖDER COSMETICS GROUP, while its company page calls it "a brand of MANN & SCHRÖDER COSMETICS" [5]. The difference reflects a restructuring in 2024. According to the group's history, its brands division became an independent company, SCHRÖDER COSMETICS, covering "all brands from alkmene to VANDINI", while MANN & SCHRÖDER COSMETICS continued in private-label manufacturing, with both companies united under the group umbrella [9]. The group's brand-portfolio page, which presents the own brands of SCHRÖDER COSMETICS, includes numis med and describes it as "medical care for sensitive skin". That points to SCHRÖDER COSMETICS as the operating owner today, although neither company states it directly for Numis.

The brand's pages also disagree on how long the group has been in business. The about page cites 75 years of experience in developing and manufacturing personal-care products, while the company page speaks of "more than 65 years". The 75-year figure matches the group's founding in 1951 and the 75th anniversary it marks in 2026.

Numis frames its purpose with the line "When body care becomes health care", and its homepage carries the tagline "Skin Care. For me. For my skin." The company lists four values: protection, trust, competence and responsibility. In practice the brand rests on three ideas: gentleness for skin that reacts easily, moisture for skin that is extremely dry, and testing as evidence that its products are well tolerated.

The two ranges are positioned for different needs. The pH 5.5 products, the company says, stabilise the skin's acid mantle, the thin and slightly acidic film of water and oils on the skin's surface, and so strengthen its resistance to redness and irritation. The UREA products are aimed at skin that is extremely dry and prone to itching and tightness. The brand's website also sorts its products by skin condition, with entries for very sensitive skin, extremely dry skin, atopic dermatitis, diabetic skin and psoriasis.

Manufacturing is part of the pitch. Numis says its products are produced in the family business at two locations in Germany, under cosmetics Good Manufacturing Practice according to the standard DIN EN ISO 22716, with regular internal and external audits.

Environmental responsibility is the fourth value. Under the motto "what is good for the skin should not harm the environment", the brand states that all numis® med products are climate-neutral and made in a climate-neutral company [4]. The pH 5.5 Face & Body Wash is also sold as a refill, which the brand describes as environmentally friendly.

The common thread across the line is the numis® care Complex, which the company says was developed especially for numis® med. It has two parts. The first, Hydrolactol®, is a moisturising mix of urea, sodium lactate, lactic acid, glycerin and sorbitol; the brand claims it increases skin hydration by up to 84% [6]. The second, SymCalmin®, is a soothing ingredient (chemical name hydroxyphenyl propamidobenzoic acid) based on active compounds found in oats. SymCalmin® is a trademark of the ingredient supplier Symrise AG. Numis says that, unlike natural oats, it contains no ingredients suspected of causing allergies, and that it relieves redness and itching.

On top of this shared base, each range adds its own key ingredients. The pH 5.5 range pairs the complex with panthenol, which, according to the company, supports the skin's renewal and the formation of water-binding lipids. The range covers cleansing and care: a Face & Body Wash and its refill, a shower gel, a 2-in-1 shower gel and shampoo, a shampoo for sensitive scalps, a face cream, a hand cream and a body lotion that the brand says moisturises for 24 hours. It also includes a deodorant roll-on made without aluminium salts and an intimate wash formulated at pH 4.2.

The UREA range is built around graded concentrations of urea. It includes a 5% body lotion, which the company says adds and holds in moisture for up to 48 hours, a 10% body milk, a 10% hand cream, a 10% foot cream and a 25% cracked heel cream for rough, cracked feet. For daily washing there is a 5% shower gel and a 5% shampoo for dry, itchy scalps. For the face, a 5% day cream and a 5% night cream add hyaluronic acid, a moisture-holding ingredient. The products the brand's homepage lists as popular include the UREA 5% Body Lotion, the pH 5.5 Face & Body Wash, the UREA 10% Hand Cream and the UREA 25% Cracked Heel Cream.

The brand's pages also refer to a separate ANTISEPT series of antibacterial, moisturising products, intended to protect against bacteria and viruses while keeping the skin from drying out.

The main distinction the brand cites is the DERMATEST® Premium 5-Star Seal for skin tolerance. Numis states that all of its products have been clinically tested and awarded the seal [4]. The company describes the seal as the highest distinction awarded by the test institute dermatest. According to its description, the tests involve at least 20 selected volunteers and run for four weeks, with each product applied where it is meant to be used, such as the face or hands. No independent press reviews or industry awards for the brand are documented.

Numis is an active brand. Its website is maintained in German and English, with both ranges, an ingredient section, skin-care guidance and a store finder, and the parent group's current brand portfolio lists numis med [10]. The most recent dated milestone the brand publishes is the February 2021 relaunch. Its about page refers to the group's 75 years of experience, a figure in line with the group's anniversary in 2026.