# Physioderm ## Facts | | | |---|---| | Founded | 1995 | | Origin | Germany | | Headquarters | Euskirchen | | Owner | PGP Hautschutz | | Status | Active | | Manufacturing | Germany | | Distribution | Salon & professional | | Website | https://www.pgp-hautschutz.de/en/our-brands/physioderm | Physioderm is a German brand of occupational skin care: creams, cleansers and care products meant for people whose hands and skin take a beating at work. It grew out of the skin-protection business of Basotherm, a Boehringer Ingelheim subsidiary, became a company in its own right in 1995 [6], and since 2008 has belonged to the Peter Greven Group, which runs it from Euskirchen in North Rhine-Westphalia through its subsidiary Peter Greven Physioderm GmbH, known as PGP [8]. The brand is not sold as retail beauty. Its customers are employers in industry, the skilled trades, construction and services, and its products are built around a three-step routine of protecting, cleansing and caring for the skin before, during and after work. Physioderm remains active, with new products and news still appearing under the PGP name. ## Origin & founders Physioderm tells its story from a long way back. The brand's former website traced its roots to 1885, when Albert Boehringer bought a small tartar factory in Ingelheim am Rhein to make pharmaceutical raw materials, and it described that purchase as the foundation stone of the later skin-protection business. The same page linked the brand's purpose to 1929, when German accident insurance was extended to cover occupational diseases. These dates belong to the history of Boehringer Ingelheim, not to Physioderm as a brand or company. The more direct origin lies in the 1950s, when Boehringer set up the subsidiary Basotherm to sell dermatological products. According to the brand's own history, Basotherm carried physioderm alongside stephalen and sansibal as brands for skin protection at work. The year the physioderm name itself first appeared is not stated in public sources, and no individual founder is named. In 1995 Basotherm spun off its occupational skin-protection programme, which began trading as Physioderm GmbH & Co. KG [6]. This is the point at which Physioderm became a standalone company, and it is the founding date this article follows, with the caveat that the product name is older. ## History & milestones Between the 1995 spin-off and 2008, Physioderm passed into the hands of the Woellner Group, a step that is not dated in public sources. In September 2008 a German legal-trade newsticker reported that Dr. Woellner Holding GmbH & Co. KG of Ludwigshafen had sold its subsidiaries FAWECO Hautschutz and Physioderm GmbH & Co. KG to Peter Greven Hautschutz GmbH & Co. KG of Bad Münstereifel, structured as an asset deal [15]. PGP's own timeline dates the takeover of the Physioderm, Myxal and Lindesa product ranges to January 2008 and records that the company was renamed Peter Greven Physioderm GmbH at the same time [4]. The buyer had its own long history in skin products. Peter Greven founded a soap and glycerine factory in Bad Münstereifel-Iversheim in 1923. In 1958 the family business set up a chemical works in Iversheim and launched a brand of skin cleansers for dispensers, and in 1998 that works became Peter Greven Hautschutz GmbH & Co. KG. The skin-protection business moved to Euskirchen in 2006, two years before Physioderm joined it. Under the new owner, the brand's product development continued through the house's patents. In 2009 PGP was granted a patent for a skin cleanser containing particles of hydrogenated castor oil, marketed as Active Soft Pearls [4]. A second patent followed in 2019 for a cleanser for sensitive skin with an improved cleansing effect, sold under the name OptiTens. Both technologies appear in products in the Physioderm range. In October 2024 two Physioderm care creams received the EU Ecolabel, a milestone described further under Sustainability. In 2025 Frank Severiens took over from Dr. Hermann-Josef Stolz on the management board, and PGP acquired the Dutch company Dreumex B.V., adding another brand to the house. ## Ownership Physioderm is owned by Peter Greven Physioderm GmbH, based in the Am Silberberg industrial park in Euskirchen. PGP is in turn a subsidiary of Peter Greven GmbH & Co. KG in Bad Münstereifel. Since 2008 the Peter Greven Group has grouped its occupational skin-care work under a set of brands that includes Physioderm, Greven, Dreumex and Myxal, with Lordin also in the house [8]. The parent group describes itself as a chemical company working in two areas, oleochemistry (chemicals made from natural fats and oils) and occupational skin care. It says it serves customers in more than 85 countries, with over 450 employees at nine sites in five countries. Within the house, the brands have distinct roles. PGP presents Physioderm as its premium skin-protection line for specific applications, while Greven is aimed at mid-sized businesses across all sectors. Dreumex covers heavy-duty cleaning for workshops, farming and trades, and Myxal covers disinfection and hygiene. The former brand domain, physioderm.com, now redirects to the PGP website, so Physioderm is presented as a house brand rather than through a site of its own. ## Philosophy & positioning The brand's stated aim is to prevent occupational dermatoses, the skin conditions people develop because of their work, using proven methods and new developments [7]. Its English tagline is "My Skincare"; the German version reads "Mein Hautschutz", literally "my skin protection". PGP describes the Physioderm range as an individualised programme that covers all the requirements of occupational skin care. The company says it is designed for jobs with heavy skin stress and for people with sensitive skin, and that it includes special products for skin that is already damaged or badly stressed. On that basis, PGP presents the range as both preventive and therapeutic, supporting the skin's recovery as well as protecting it. The brand's old history page named three guiding principles: continuous innovation, a steady focus on customers, and a firm commitment to quality. The wider company adds a service side to the products, offering advice and individual skin-protection plans that set out which product to use at which stage of the working day. ## Products & innovation The Physioderm range is split into three areas: skin protection, skin cleansing and skin care. Many products are named for the working situation they are meant for rather than for a skin type. The protection line is the most varied. SANSIBAL is a protection cream for work with substances that do not dissolve in water, such as oils, while SANSIBON is intended for highly adhesive dirt. SANIWIP is for wet, cold and frosty conditions, PROGLOVE is a gel for people who wear gloves for long periods and want to limit softening of the skin, and NUTRI SAFE is a protection cream described as food-safe. DUALIN and DUALIN PURE are sold as creams with a dual effect for jobs where the working materials vary. Outdoor workers are covered by the PHYSIO UV 50 sun-protection products, including a very water-resistant cream, and by lip products for frost and sun. SINEPRINT is a protection cream for work on sensitive surfaces, designed not to leave greasy fingerprints. In a July 2026 press release, PGP positioned it for workplaces that must be protected against electrostatic discharge, noting that special protection creams can improve the effectiveness of the wristbands worn there [2]. The cleansing line runs from mild foams for light dirt to hand cleansers for heavy soiling. At the heavy end, PHYSIODERM ACTIVE PEARLS PURE uses wax pearls made from hydrogenated castor oil to bind dirt, and another cleanser uses olive seed powder as a natural scrubbing agent for medium dirt. The STEPHALEN name, once a sister brand at Basotherm, survives in the range: STEPHALEN OPTIFOAM and OPTIWASH are fragrance-free cleansers for hair and body built on the OptiTens technology. The line also includes ECOSAN, a neutral syndet (a mild synthetic cleanser) for light dirt. In the care line, PHYSIODERM CREME is described as an intensive cream for very dry and heavily stressed skin, and PHYSIODERM CUREA is intended for sensitive, work-stressed skin. On testing, the brand has said that all of its skin-protection products are checked with the repetitive irritation test, a method in which skin is repeatedly exposed to an irritant to see how well a cream shields it; the brand calls this the gold standard [7]. It has also cited a study by the dermatology clinic of the University of Erlangen, which, according to the brand, confirmed that its Active Soft Pearls cleansing concept keeps the strain on the skin to a minimum [7]. PGP states that it develops and manufactures its skin-care products only in Germany [8]. ## Sustainability Physioderm's environmental credentials are tied to individual products rather than brand-wide targets. In 2024 PHYSIODERM CUREA and CUREA PURE in the 1-litre Vario bottle were awarded the EU Ecolabel. According to PGP, they were the first leave-on products from a German manufacturer to receive the EU Ecolabel for cosmetics [4]. Both the perfumed and the unperfumed versions of CUREA in that bottle carry the label [11]. An earlier award went to ECOSAN, now listed in the Physioderm cleansing range. In 2017 it received Germany's Blue Angel environmental label, which PGP says made it the first product in the category of rinse-off cosmetics such as shampoos, shower gels and soaps; it also holds the EU Ecolabel. ## Current status Physioderm is an active brand. Its range is presented on the PGP website in German, English, French and Dutch, and the company continues to publish news about products in the line, most recently the July 2026 press release on SINEPRINT. The brand no longer has a standalone website and operates as one of several brands inside Peter Greven Physioderm GmbH. ## Timeline {#belagg-timeline} | Year | Event | Source | |---|---|---| | 1995 | Occupational skin-protection programme spun off from Basotherm as Physioderm GmbH & Co. KG | http://web.archive.org/web/20240524225412/https://www.physioderm.com/physioderm/historie-der-marke | | 2008 | Peter Greven acquires the Physioderm®, Myxal® and Lindesa® product ranges from the Woellner Group; company renamed Peter Greven Physioderm GmbH | https://www.pgp-hautschutz.de/en/about-us/history | | 2008 | Acquired by Peter Greven Hautschutz GmbH & Co. KG (Peter Greven Group) from Dr. Woellner Holding GmbH & Co. KG, Ludwigshafen, in an asset deal; company renamed Peter Greven Physioderm GmbH | https://www.rws-verlag.de/aktuell/newsticker-kanzleien/schilling-zutt-anschuetz-beraet-woellner-gruppe-bei-verkauf-von-faweco-und-physioderm-22798/ | | 2009 | Patent for a skin cleansing agent with hydrogenated castor oil particles (Active Soft Pearls®) | https://www.pgp-hautschutz.de/en/about-us/history | | 2019 | Patent for a sensitive-skin cleanser with improved cleansing effect (OptiTens®) | https://www.pgp-hautschutz.de/en/about-us/history | | 2024 | EU Ecolabel for PHYSIODERM® CUREA and CUREA PURE (1 L Vario bottle), described by the company as the first leave-on products from a German manufacturer with the EU Ecolabel for cosmetic products | https://www.pgp-hautschutz.de/en/about-us/history | | — | Basotherm, a Boehringer Ingelheim subsidiary set up in the 1950s (exact year not stated), carries physioderm® alongside stephalen® and sansibal® as occupational skin-protection brands | http://web.archive.org/web/20240524225412/https://www.physioderm.com/physioderm/historie-der-marke | ## Certifications {#belagg-certifications} - **EU Ecolabel** — “Award of the EU Ecolabel for Physioderm® CUREA and CUREA PURE in the 1 L Vario bottle: the first leave-on products from a German manufacturer to be awarded the EU Ecolabel for cosmetic products.” — https://www.pgp-hautschutz.de/en/about-us/history ## Signature products {#belagg-products} - **PHYSIODERM® CUREA** — PHYSIODERM® CUREA cares for sensitive and occupationally stressed skin. — https://www.pgp-hautschutz.de/en/sustainability/products-with-eco-labels - **PHYSIODERM® CREME** — Highly-effective skin care cream for extremely stressed and very dry skin — https://www.pgp-hautschutz.de/en/our-brands/physioderm/skin-care - **PHYSIODERM® ACTIVE PEARLS® PURE** — Hand cleanser with dirt-binding castor-oil wax pearls — https://www.pgp-hautschutz.de/en/our-brands/physioderm/skin-cleansing - **SANSIBAL®** — Skin protection cream in case of skin exposure to water-insoluble substances — https://www.pgp-hautschutz.de/en/our-brands/physioderm/skin-protection - **PHYSIO UV 50 PLUS** — Very water-resistant light and sun protection cream — https://www.pgp-hautschutz.de/en/our-brands/physioderm/skin-protection ## Key ingredients {#belagg-ingredients} castor-oil wax pearls (hydrogenated castor oil, Active Soft Pearls®) · olive seed powder (natural scrubbing agent) Source: https://www.pgp-hautschutz.de/en/our-brands/physioderm/skin-cleansing ## Proprietary technologies & patents {#belagg-tech} - Active Soft Pearls® · OptiTens® — http://web.archive.org/web/20240413093714/https://www.physioderm.com/physioderm/physioderm-philosophie - 2009: skin cleansing agent with particles containing hydrogenated castor oil (Active Soft Pearls®) · 2019: sensitive skin cleanser with improved cleansing effect (OptiTens®) — https://www.pgp-hautschutz.de/en/about-us/history ## Mentioned in {#belagg-press} - **RWS Verlag (Newsticker Kanzleien)** (2008) — Law-firm newsticker dated 26.09.2008 reporting that Dr. Woellner Holding sold its subsidiaries FAWECO Hautschutz GmbH & Co. KG and Physioderm GmbH & Co. KG to Peter Greven Hautschutz GmbH & Co. KG (trade/legal press, not beauty editorial). — https://www.rws-verlag.de/aktuell/newsticker-kanzleien/schilling-zutt-anschuetz-beraet-woellner-gruppe-bei-verkauf-von-faweco-und-physioderm-22798/ ## Sources 2. (T1) https://www.pgp-hautschutz.de/ 4. (T2) https://www.pgp-hautschutz.de/en/about-us/history 6. (T2) http://web.archive.org/web/20240524225412/https://www.physioderm.com/physioderm/historie-der-marke 7. (T2) http://web.archive.org/web/20240413093714/https://www.physioderm.com/physioderm/physioderm-philosophie 8. (T2) https://www.pgp-hautschutz.de/en/about-us/pgp-at-a-glance 11. (T2) https://www.pgp-hautschutz.de/en/sustainability/products-with-eco-labels 15. (T4) https://www.rws-verlag.de/aktuell/newsticker-kanzleien/schilling-zutt-anschuetz-beraet-woellner-gruppe-bei-verkauf-von-faweco-und-physioderm-22798/ --- Glowpedia · · Published 2026-09-30 Please cite with a link to the article URL.