NIVEA HISTORY - 100 YEARS IN THE MAKING
Over 100 years ago, we invented modern skin care with NIVEA Creme. Today, millions of people all over the world, all with different types of skin, rely on the NIVEA brand. That is why our researchers work extensively with different skin types and the different care requirements brought about by culture, gender and age. Thanks to this approach, we have developed numerous innovative skin care products over the past few decades – from deodorants to sunscreen products. We work with over 50 institutions around the world to ensure that our products are suitable for your skin. At our headquarters in Hamburg we have even set up our own laboratory for Asia and Latin America, where we conduct research specifically aimed at skin types and climate conditions found in these regions. We do this so that one day everybody in the world can place their trust in NIVEA products.
How It All Began
Before NIVEA Creme's success story could begin, something entirely different had to be invented – Eucerit. Eucerit acts as an emulsifier and combines oil and water into an extremely fine, stable mixture. Fortunately, Dr Isaac Lifschütz had developed this completely new emulsifier by 1911. Dermatologist Professor Paul Gerson Unna admired Dr Lifschütz’s specialist knowledge in this area and presented it to Dr Oscar Troplowitz, chemist and co-founder of Beiersdorf. The latter immediately realised that the water-in-oil emulsion would form the perfect base for a cosmetic skin cream. All they now needed was a name. And to find one, Dr Troplowitz needed to look no further than the cream itself. Once the emulsion was finished, it had a snow white colour. The name NIVEA comes from the Latin words “nix, nivis” and means “snow”. When translated, NIVEA literally means “snow white”.