Origins

For us, natural skin care has been on trend since 1967.

Elisabeth Sigmund and Rudolf Hauschka had a clear goal when they launched their own cosmetic revolution from a small Swabian spa town: to take chemistry back to nature. Today, more and more people are asking ecological and social questions – including about their cosmetics. And we provide answers, some of which haven’t changed for more than 50 years.

 

A Timeline

The Healing Powers of Nature Harnessed for the Health of Humankind

• 1914-24 Philosopher, scholar and educator Dr. Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) introduces Anthroposophy, a spiritual science that comes to influence agriculture, education, the arts, medicine, architecture and economics.
• 1924 Dr. Steiner delivers a series of lectures on farming in Germany.
• Dr. Rudolf Hauschka (1891-1969) attends a lecture by Dr. Steiner and asks, "What is life?"
• Dr. Steiner replies, "Study rhythm. Rhythm carries life."
• Late 1920s-30s Farmers develop a new method of farming based on Dr. Steiner's teachings called Biodynamics.
• Based on Steiner's advice to "study rhythm," Dr. Hauschka observes the life and energy of the natural world and begins to see the presence and influence of rhythm in all living things. He exposes botanicals to the natural extremes of warmth and cold, light and darkness, and motion and stillness. He discovers that through rhythmical processing, he is able to create a water-based rose extract that remains stable for over 30 years.
• 1929 – The beginnings of WALA Heilmittel GmbH.
  Rudolf Hauschka establishes a process for producing plant extracts based on water, enabling them to remain stable without using any alcohol or preservatives. This achievement gains the young chemist the respect of the scientific world – and gives rise to the Foundation of WALA.
• 1935 – The market launch of WALA Medicines.
  WALA opens its laboratories and launches its first alcohol-free medicines – today known as WALA Medicines. For a long time, Rudolf Hauschka planned to offer skin care products alongside the pharmaceutical ones.
• 1962 – The beginnings of Dr. Hauschka.
  Rudolf Hauschka meets the researcher, developer and esthetician Elisabeth Sigmund, who has been studying medicine for several semesters. With her ideas, her own formulations and a holistic skin care concept, Elisabeth Sigmund is the perfect fit for WALA.
• 1967 – The market launch of Dr. Hauschka.
  ‘Dr. Hauschka Heilende Kosmetik nach Elisabeth Sigmund’ (Dr. Hauschka Healing Skin Care by Elisabeth Sigmund) is launched. Even back then, we developed for people, not markets: Our natural cosmetics are designed to meet human needs and use the healing powers of nature for skin care. Our initial aim was to develop cosmetics with good tolerability and healing abilities – so natural cosmetics were the inevitable result.