28-05-2025
Beauty heroes: Dr Barbara Sturm
There are few names as well known in the beauty world as Dr Barbara Sturm. The German doctor has spent her career redefining the skincare world with her products, concentrating on formulas that target common skin concerns with her pioneering anti-inflammatory techniques.
Sturm began her career as an orthopaedics specialist, studying at Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf where she learnt about treatments to alleviate the inflammation caused by osteoarthritis. Together with her team she focused on finding ways to use the body's own proteins and healing factors to lower inflammation markers and tackle joint pain. This research led Sturm to consider how some of the techniques she'd been studying might be beneficial in the aesthetics world. She also concluded that inflammation was the biggest enemy of an anti-ageing routine.
By 2014 Sturm had launched a full skincare line and in the years that followed she opened spas in London, New York, Miami and LA, which feature the brand's 300 products, all of which are available over the counter and formulated in such a way that each customer can find the right combination for their skin's needs.
Sturm's line has a focus on 'molecular repair', which means that the products are designed to work on a cellular level to heal and repair the skin. The one she is possibly the most passionate about is her Hyaluronic Serum formulation. 'It is basically the 'white T-shirt' of your skincare routine. This is because it's the product you use every morning and every night, like your basics,' Sturm explained. 'We make [our Hyaluronic Serum] with the highest possible integrity, quality and efficacy.'
Watch how Sturm and her team make her hero Hyaluronic Serum at their laboratory. Direction: Mona TehraniDOP: Camille GuillemainEdit: Laurène VanackerProduction: Sarah Barnes
