Our story

How it all started...

~ The war put a stop to my plans. Dancers were no longer needed, but gymnastics teachers and physiotherapists were. No sooner had I passed my exams than I was drafted, first on Labour Service in Wolnzach, then back to Munich, where I lived in a bunker with the air intelligence service among the victims of terrible attacks. It was my job that saved me: in 1943, I was requested to work in the military hospital as a physiotherapist. Otherwise I would no longer be alive. ~ (Gertraud Gruber)

Her creams...

The ingredients were brought to her by a local herbalist, to which she added oils and vitamins – and she started by mixing them herself in a small laboratory. However, cosmetics were a “shameful affair” in the early 1950s. Gertraud Gruber reminisces:

Europe’s first beauty farm...

This “itinerant phase” lasted about a year, and then the young entrepreneur afforded herself a small treatment room. The fact that a dentist also ran his practice in the same house was enormously helpful, as people could not tell where the visitors were actually going. The next premises, where Gertraud Gruber was also already accommodating overnight guests, incidentally leads to a neologism ...

Beauty and physical health...

While the locals make fun of the “Wrinkles’ Ranch”, Gertraud Gruber is expanding her services. She is adamant that beauty has something to do with physical health, and is also associated with inner balance and a positive view of oneself and of life. Those who come to her receive cosmetic care and nurturing, but – often to their own surprise – they are often also expected to exercise. There are many different motivations at play.

Water gymnastics and ball games in the garden...

Activities in the fresh air were a big thing at the time. The first beauty farm visitors hiked through the Tegernsee mountains, practised water gymnastics and played ball in the garden. The food they ate was also carefully scrutinised – and not only in the form of typical diets. Above all, the meals had to be healthy, fresh and rich in vital substances. Gertraud Gruber focused on bringing more and more expertise and competence into the house. These included therapists for the exercise programme, as well as nutritionists and doctors, with whom she eventually developed one of the centrepieces of the programme: the alkaline deacidification week, which has been copied many times to this day.

A new, independent company...

In order to fulfil all her customers’ wishes in a professional manner, the farm owner – who was always thinking ahead – decided in 1996 to hive off the cosmetics sales into an independent company. Since then, GERTRAUD GRUBER KOSMETIK GmbH & Co. KG, based in Rottach-Egern, has been responsible for the production and marketing of the holistic care concept with skin-specific product developments and effective treatment experiences from Europe’s first beauty farm.