Spirularin

Spirularin is a German skincare line for problem skin, feet and nails, made by Ocean Pharma GmbH near Hamburg. The line is built entirely around one patented active ingredient, Spiralin, a standardized extract of the microalga Spirulina platensis. Ocean Pharma was founded in 1978 by Christian Günther [1], and since 2018 has been part of the Baden-Baden pharmaceutical group CESRA [8]. The company remains active: it launched a new Spirularin foot spray and published a clinical pilot study in 2025 [5].

The Spirularin name applies to the products; the maker and parent is Ocean Pharma, which also produces a sister brand, skinicer, sharing the same Spiralin active. Both are developed for professional users such as podiatrists and dermatologists, with formulations described by the company as made in Germany.

Ocean Pharma began not with algae but with the sea itself. According to the company, its early research centred on New Zealand green-lipped mussels and omega-3 fatty acids, before it moved toward microalgae-based ingredients aimed at sensitive, problem-prone skin [1]. That shift produced Spiralin, and the Spirularin brand was built around it. The company sums up its guiding idea as "We help nature to act," and frames its goal as developing products that "function naturally."

The Spirularin line was integrated into Ocean Pharma's product range around 2013 [1]. A patent for the Spiralin active ingredient was granted in 2014 [1]. In 2018, Ocean Pharma was acquired by CESRA and became part of the CESRA group [8]. The line has continued to expand, with a Spirularin F Foot Spray offering fungal protection added in 2025 [1].

Spirularin is owned and manufactured by Ocean Pharma GmbH, which since the 2018 acquisition operates as part of CESRA in Baden-Baden [8]. Ocean Pharma also makes skinicer, a sister brand of facial and body care that uses the same Spiralin ingredient. The company says it partners with the Redel Foundation for charitable initiatives.

The line's premise rests on the age of its source organism. Spirulina, the company notes, has existed for some 3.6 billion years and evolved "simple but highly efficient defense mechanisms" against fungi, viruses and bacteria — defenses it says Spiralin harnesses to repair, vitalize and protect problem skin. The products are positioned as professional dermo-cosmetics, developed in collaboration with dermatologists and podiatrists, and target specific concerns of the skin, feet and nails rather than general cosmetics.

Spirularin is organized into skin and foot care and nail care. Signature products include the Spirularin VS Cream for wart-prone skin, the SR Cracked Heel Cream, the HF Gel for dry skin, the N Nail Serum for nails prone to fungal problems, and the F Foot Spray. The common thread is Spiralin, which the company describes as a patented standardized extract of Spirulina platensis [3]. The brand attributes the ingredient's effect to specialized sugar molecules — polysaccharides — that it says shield healthy skin cells against viruses, notably human papillomavirus (HPV) [3]. A third-party aesthetics retailer describes the VS Cream as also containing willow bark extract, a milder form of salicylic acid, and as suitable for diabetics and children over the age of three [7].

Ocean Pharma cites several published studies for the ingredient. A 2023 study of 26 children treated with Spirularin VS Cream for molluscum contagiosum reported 73.1% complete healing over 3.9 months, and a 2025 pilot study of 20 patients found that a Spiralin gel increased skin microbiome diversity and reduced Staphylococcus aureus in atopic dermatitis [5]. The company links this research to collaborators including Prof. Pulz of Potsdam and Prof. Dr. med. Kristian Reich [5].

Spiralin has been recognized in the German trade journal Ästhetische Dermatologie. Ocean Pharma's own pages record two distinct honors: the science page cites "Produkt des Jahres 2013" (Product of the Year 2013) [3], while the company's about page cites "Wirkstoff des Jahres 2015" (Active Ingredient of the Year 2015) [1]. These are best read as two separate recognitions in the same publication — a 2013 product award and a 2015 active-ingredient award — rather than a single disputed date.

The brand is active. Ocean Pharma launched the Spirularin F Foot Spray and published an atopic dermatitis pilot study in 2025 [5], and the line is distributed across German-speaking markets and exported elsewhere. Ownership rests with Ocean Pharma GmbH as part of the CESRA group.