“Longevity is not just a trend, it is a paradigm shift,” says Burcu Andreae-Nehlsen, President Derma & Health Care at Beiersdorf, the company which owns beauty brands Eucerin, Nivea and La Praire.
The German beauty giant is at the forefront of the longevity conversation with 15 years of research in epigenetics already under its belt.
Epigenetics – considered by many to be a major piece of the longevity puzzle – identifies a link between environmental factors, such as diet, pollution, sun, stress and gene expression.
Chemical markers that attach to our DNA have been found to “switch” genes on and off, without changing the genetic material itself.
After more than a decade of research and scanning more than 50,000 different active ingredients, Beiersdorf found Epicelline, an active ingredient which “reactivates” genes connected to youth, essentially reversing the biological clock.
Bringing Beiersdorf’s epigenetic breakthrough to market
This breakthrough ingredient debuted under Beierdorf’s dermatological brand Eucerin in September 2024, with Eucerin Hyaluron-Filler Epigenetic Serum.
Nivea followed in September 2025 with Cellular Epigenetics Age Rewind Face Serum with Epicelline.
Longevity is an area where you can bridge the short-term results with the long-term results – prevention and correction
Beiersdorf's bet on longevity comes amid a major shift in the beauty industry.
As our understanding of the underlying mechanisms which contribute to ageing is being revolutionised, so is consumer knowledge.
Eucerin’s epigenetic innovation is an “anti-ageing” serum, but Andreae-Nehlsen – who joined Beiersdorf from L’Oréal in late 2025 and leads its dermatological skin care portfolio and plaster brands with responsibility for Eucerin, Aquaphor, Hansaplast, Curitas, and Elastoplast – is well aware of the changing conversation around the term as the longevity shift takes hold.
“It is a very complex and new topic. It is a new area of science, and we are also assessing different semantic angles so far within our portfolio,” she says.
Not yet a Subscriber?
This is a small extract of the full article which is available ONLY to premium content subscribers. Click below to get premium content on Cosmetics Business.
Subscribe now Already a subscriber? Sign in here.