Retimax

Retimax is a vitamin A skincare ointment sold under the name Retimax 1500. It is a single-product line rather than a broad cosmetics range: one 30 g tube of a petrolatum-based ointment containing 1,500 international units of vitamin A per gram, in the form of retinyl palmitate. The product is made in Germany by Spreewälder Arzneimittel GmbH, a pharmaceutical plant in the Spreewald region near Berlin that describes itself as "a company of the FARMINA Group" [1]. The trademark is held by FARMINA Sp. z o.o., which also owns the sister brand Mediderm [5].

The ointment occupies an unusual middle ground between medicine cabinet and beauty shelf. Its German maker lists it among its pharmaceutical products and promotes it for the delicate skin under the eyes, while a Polish medical publisher's product database classifies it as a cosmetic preparation for dry and irritated skin [7]. It is sold mainly through pharmacies.

The launch year of Retimax and the people behind its development are not documented. The dates that appear around the brand belong to the companies connected to it rather than to the product itself.

Two countries are tied to Retimax, and they describe different things. A US trademark record lists the trademark owner, FARMINA Sp. z o.o., at an address in Kraków, Poland [5]. The manufacturer's own website, by contrast, places production of Retimax 1500 at its plant in Märkische Heide, in the German state of Brandenburg [1]. The first describes ownership of the name; the second describes where the ointment is made.

The German plant that produces Retimax has a long history of its own. According to Spreewälder Arzneimittel, the site was established in 1949 and has made medicinal products, medical devices and cosmetics for more than 70 years. After German reunification in 1990 the plant was privatised, and the company says this allowed it to expand production capacity [1]. These dates refer to the factory, not to the Retimax brand.

Alongside its own products, the plant works as a contract manufacturer of medicines, dietary supplements and cosmetics. It produces creams, ointments and gels in batches of up to 1,000 litres, as well as tablets, capsules and suppositories, and states that all production stages comply with Good Manufacturing Practice, the quality standard for pharmaceutical production [3]. The company also says it has broadened its portfolio to bring its own products to the German market and abroad.

The most recent dated milestone concerns the name itself. In October 2025, FARMINA Sp. z o.o. filed the RETIMAX trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The application covers cosmetic products as well as pharmaceutical preparations for dermatological use, and as of the latest record it was pending [5].

Retimax belongs to the FARMINA Group. A job-portal profile of Farmina sp. z o.o. describes a company headquartered in Kraków, gives its founding year as 1908, and says it runs four production plants, one of them outside Poland: Spreewälder Arzneimittel GmbH in Märkische Heide [6]. The same profile describes a portfolio of medicinal products spanning dermatology, antiseptics, ear-nose-throat care, gastroenterology, cardiology, gynaecology and pain relief, and a workforce of between 201 and 500 people.

The group's trademark portfolio places Retimax beside several other brands. Mediderm, a line of creams, shampoos and shower products for very dry skin conditions such as psoriasis, eczema and atopic dermatitis, is registered in the United States, as are the gynaecological brand Vagical and the bowel-health brand Crohnax [5]. Spreewälder Arzneimittel names Mediderm as its biggest-selling product, with Retimax 1500 and the earwax-removal spray Cerutalgin among its other own-brand lines.

Retimax is positioned as an affordable pharmacy staple rather than a prestige skincare product. Its manufacturer frames its approach in plain terms, saying that as a pharmaceutical company it offers patients quality products at affordable prices. The brand has no dedicated website, tagline or published mission statement; it is presented on the manufacturer's corporate site next to the company's medical products.

The product's two descriptions pull in slightly different directions. Spreewälder Arzneimittel presents it with an anti-ageing angle, focused on the thin skin around the eyes. The Polish medical database frames it as a care ointment for dry and irritated skin and for mild irritation and chafing, to be applied in a thin layer two to three times a day.

Retimax 1500 is the brand's only product. Each gram of ointment contains 1,500 IU of vitamin A in the form of retinyl palmitate, a fatty-acid ester of retinol. A product description on the Polish beauty portal Wizaż calls this the gentlest form of retinol and notes that the ointment is built on a petrolatum base [4]. The Polish medical database also lists lanolin, a wax derived from sheep's wool, which it credits with moisturising and protective properties.

The manufacturer makes several claims for the active ingredient. According to Spreewälder Arzneimittel, retinol stimulates cell renewal, increases collagen production and promotes the formation of blood vessels, which the company says gives the ointment an anti-ageing effect [1]. The Polish database describes vitamin A more conservatively, as regulating the growth, differentiation and renewal of the skin's outer layer [7]. No independent clinical studies of the product are documented, and no third-party certifications are known.

Retimax has received no documented awards or editorial coverage in major beauty media. Its standing rests on consumer reviews. On Wizaż, a Polish beauty review portal, the ointment holds an average of 4.8 out of 5 from 448 user reviews, with 93 per cent of reviewers saying they would buy it again [4]. Reviewers there most often describe it as a rescue product for dry, irritated skin, and new reviews continued to appear through mid-2026.

Retimax is active. The ointment is offered with an order link on the manufacturer's website, it remains listed in Polish pharmacy and medical product databases under the producer Farmina, and the owner's US trademark application from October 2025 was still pending at last record. Its documented presence covers at least Poland and Germany. It remains a small, single-product pharmacy line rather than a widely distributed beauty brand.