Perhaps more than ever before, Germany is at the forefront of anti-aging, thanks to dermatologists like Timm Golueke. The anti-aging obsessed from around the world seek out Golueke, who has had his own clinic on Munich’s Maximilianstrasse (with high-end shops like Valentino and Jil Sander as neighbors) since 2004, for his expertise and non-invasive aesthetic methods.

He made noise in 2015 when he launched his skincare range, Royal Fern, which is the world’s only skincare line based around the plant. Fern extracts contain valuable substances that have been proven to positively influence all the signs of skin aging. No wonder the line, sold at the likes of Bergdorf Goodman and Space NK, has already become a cult favorite of beauty insiders. Here, Golueke talks about the secrets of German skincare, the one thing you should be doing for your eyes that you probably aren’t, and more.

Germany is such an anti-aging mecca these days. Why do you think that is?

I think there is a big tradition, for example Dr. Hauschka, who has been on the market for a long, long time. It used to be more France over the last hundred years and Germany was more of a niche market. But a lot of German skincare brands have become huge in the States. I just read that Birkenstock, the footwear company, is even launching their own skincare line. There is a big tradition of healthcare and spa/skincare in Germany. We have a famous little town called Baden-Baden, where all those people from Russia over the turn of the last century came, to do what we call today ‘wellness.’ So, there is a tradition in Germany for healthy living, skincare and natural remedies, but it was a little bit sleeping the last 50 years but now it’s coming up again.

What do you think prompted that awakening?

More and more, people want to know about what they are eating and they similarly like to know more about their skincare and what’s going into it. They care that it’s trustful, the ingredients are proven, and they also trust German science. It was never so big for cosmetics, but more for cars and especially technology, but now in the next year or two I think we will have more Porsches and Mercedes-Benz of skincare coming up.