Siriderma

Siriderma is a German skincare brand built around alkaline formulations for people with skin conditions such as atopic dermatitis, psoriasis and rosacea. It is made by Sirius GmbH, a company the brand dates to 1996, which develops and produces its products in Monheim am Rhein, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Sirius began as a family business and stayed one for more than two decades. In January 2019 it was acquired by the Berlin pharmaceutical manufacturer Dr. Kade, which bought all of its shares [13]. The brand has remained active under that ownership. It is sold through pharmacies, its own online shop and authorised marketplaces such as Amazon, and its range has grown from three product lines at the time of the takeover to six.

Siriderma's own account of its beginnings starts with a family illness. According to the company, the daughter of its founding couple suffered from severe atopic dermatitis, known in German as Neurodermitis, from birth, and nothing the family tried gave her lasting relief [3]. The parents held on to the idea that something gentler had to exist. They began developing and making alkaline care products themselves, and the company says those first products have proved themselves to this day.

That search, as the brand tells it, led to the founding of Sirius in Monheim am Rhein in 1996. The town has been the company's base ever since, and the products are still developed and made there. The brand's website gives 1996 as the founding year [1]. A 2020 report in the German pharmacy trade publication APOTHEKE ADHOC places the founding more loosely in the mid-1990s [15]. The two accounts sit comfortably together; the trade report simply gives a rounder date.

The story is central to how Siriderma presents itself. Its website frames the brand less as a beauty line than as a response to a practical problem: finding care that people with long-term skin conditions can use every day without further irritation.

For most of its first two decades, Siriderma was a small, specialised operation. Its products were aimed at chronically irritated, itchy or very dry skin, and the company sold them through its own six-person field sales force and directly to customers through a webshop. Its packaging design was last refreshed in 2013, according to trade press coverage of the later sale.

Between 2014 and 2015, a survey was carried out across Germany among long-term users of the brand's MED range, a line of intensive care products for problem skin. The results were published in 2017 in PZ Pharmazeutische Zeitung, issue 27/2017, under the names of Jan Ohme and Wolfram Ledwoch. The piece ran in the journal's "Originalia" section, which carries submitted contributions; the journal notes that such articles do not necessarily reflect its editorial view [16].

The largest change came in January 2019, when Dr. Kade took over the company. At that point the range consisted of three lines, presented as "Pure", "med" and "care". By October 2020 the portfolio had reached 20 products, and in the same month Dr. Kade appointed a new managing director with the task of raising the brand's profile in pharmacies.

In 2021 a pilot study on two of the brand's MED products was published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology. The range has since been reorganised into six lines covering medical-style intensive care, face, body, hair, babies and sun protection, alongside a set of introductory kits.

Dr. Kade Pharmazeutische Fabrik, a mid-sized pharmaceutical manufacturer based in Berlin, acquired all shares in Sirius GmbH in January 2019. The deal was reported on 14 and 15 January, and no purchase price was disclosed [13][14]. A company announcement quoted by Ärzte Zeitung described Sirius as specialised in developing and selling alkaline skincare, and said the Siriderma products were certified vegan, developed without animal testing and made in Germany.

For Dr. Kade, the purchase extended an existing dermatology portfolio that already included the haemorrhoid treatments Posterisan and Faktu. In its 2017/18 financial year, which ended in September, the Kade group reported revenue of 131 million euros with 400 employees. APOTHEKE ADHOC described the deal as Dr. Kade's entry into the cosmetics business. It reported that the previous owning family had been looking for a new owner, that Sirius would remain independent within the group, and that the logo and packaging would not change at first. Dr. Kade also intended to expand sales through pharmacies, and the products were to be developed further jointly.

Dr. Kade's own website now lists dermocosmetics as one of its healthcare fields, alongside areas such as women's health, proctology, heartburn, children's vitamins and tonics. It describes Sirius as "our subsidiary" offering special alkaline care under the Siriderma brand [12].

In October 2020 Alexander Welsch was named managing director of Sirius [15]. Before joining, he had worked at Bayer in sales and marketing, moved to Klosterfrau in 2003, joined Hermes as head of marketing in 2009, and between 2012 and 2017 ran Dr. Scheffler, where he was responsible for brands such as Rugard and Addivita. On taking up the role, Welsch said his focus would be on growing Siriderma's sales in pharmacies, health-food shops and its own webshop, and on the strategic development of what he called the brand's alkaline therapeutic approach.

Siriderma describes itself as highly tolerable alkaline skincare for people with skin problems such as atopic dermatitis, psoriasis and rosacea. It calls itself a manufacturer of medical active cosmetics, and its products are positioned primarily for the pharmacy channel.

The idea behind the range is what the company calls the Basen-Balance-Formel, or base-balance formula. According to Siriderma, this formula gives the products a slightly alkaline character, which it says helps neutralise excess acids on the skin and supports the skin's acid-base balance [6]. The company also states that its products do not change the skin's natural pH value in the long term. Both points are the company's own explanation of how its products work.

The brand sums up its approach in a three-word tagline, "Natürlich. Basisch. Pur." ("Natural. Alkaline. Pure."), which it also presents as its quality promise.

On fragrance, the brand and its parent describe the products differently. Siriderma's quality page says most of its products are available either without fragrance or with a light scent, so customers can choose [8]. Dr. Kade's website, by contrast, says the alkaline formulation deliberately avoids irritants such as alcohol and fragrances [12]. The brand's own wording leaves room for lightly scented versions.

Environmental commitments form a smaller part of the brand's message. Siriderma says its aim is to keep its ecological footprint as small as possible. The measures it lists include shipping through DHL's GoGreen Plus service, an FSC-certified local printer, fully recycled air-cushion packaging film, travel by rail and charging points for employees' electric cars.

The current range is organised into six lines: MED, FACE, BODY, HAIR, BABY and SUN, alongside introductory kits built around particular needs such as rosacea, baby care or summer skin. This marks a shift from 2019, when trade press described three lines called "Pure", "med" and "care". The difference reflects the growth of the range over time rather than conflicting accounts.

The MED line holds the products most closely tied to the brand's origins. The HYDRO Intensivcreme is described by the company as calming redness and itching in very irritated skin, while the LIPID Intensivcreme targets very dry, scaly skin. The AKUT Intensivmaske is meant for acutely affected patches and, according to Siriderma, helps relieve itching and loosen scaling. The line also includes an Anti-Juckreiz GEL, a cooling anti-itch gel, and an alkaline bath concentrate. The other lines extend the same approach to everyday products: face creams and an Intensiv-Serum HYAL4, body and hand creams, shampoo and conditioner, a nappy and wound-protection cream for babies, and an SPF 30 sunscreen.

Siriderma points to several studies in support of its products. The company reports a pilot study in which 25 adults with mild atopic dermatitis used the HYDRO Intensivcreme and AKUT Intensivmaske for eight weeks under a dermatologist's supervision. According to the brand, itching, redness, dryness and cracking fell by more than 60 percent, eczema symptoms by 50 percent and the affected skin area by 30 percent. The study was published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology in 2021 [7]. The earlier user survey, which the company says covered 858 people with atopic dermatitis or psoriasis, reported very good tolerability and improvement in the skin's condition in less than three months. Siriderma also says all of its products were tested by the testing institute Dermatest and rated "very good".

All products are certified by the Vegan Society, according to the brand. Siriderma says no animal testing is carried out for its products, which carry the PETA Animal Test Free logo and appear on PETA's approved list [8].

Siriderma is an acquired brand that continues to operate as a subsidiary business of Dr. Kade. Sirius GmbH still develops and produces the products in Monheim am Rhein, and the brand's webshop was live in 2026 with current offers. Its own company-facts page was marked as verified in February 2026 and describes the business as an active entity [4]. The products are sold through the brand's online shop, in pharmacies and through authorised marketplaces such as Amazon. Counting from its stated founding year, the company reached its thirtieth year in 2026.