More often than not, we’re early adopters where products are concerned. We love discovering new or under-the-radar brands and being among the first to bring them to you: this was the case with such favorites as MyHavtorn, TWELVE, Vintner’s Daughter, Kosas, Ellis Brooklyn, Macrene (formerly 37) Actives, and lots of others, now that we think about it.

But occasionally, we’ll wait. Our ears will perk up at the first sign of a great possibility, but there will be more digging for us to do — because before we introduce something to you, we want to be absolutely sure about it.

We dug a lot with this one. A LOT. Because as much as people swoon over Augustinus Bader, many would admit that among this skincare brand's appealing aspects is its tantalizing shroud of mystery. One whose threads include its founder, a renowned (and always bow-tied) German professor whose specialty is stem cell biology; a patented ingredient complex, known only as “TFC8”; a veritable horde of celebrity fans; and stem cells in general. 

But, as you may already know, we love to dig. And with every question we thought you might be curious about, Augustinus Bader went above and beyond with the answers. For example:

Are there good reviews from prominent beauty editors? More than you can shake a stick at. Augustinus Bader's The Cream and The Rich Cream even just won “Best Skincare of All Time” from WWD, the venerated beauty industry publication. 

How about an enduring testimonial from a celebrity with great skin? How about enduring testimonials from pretty much all of them, starting with Victoria Beckham? Courteney Cox and Carla Bruni love these products so much that they've even invested in the company.

And are there any consumer test results? How about clinical test results? Because Augustinus Bader has both. And all three of these products knocked it out of the park, to the point where it may be tempting to rely only on those numbers themselves when describing them. For example, the training deck we received for The Body Cream seemed to be little more than an outline of its clinical test results, which made us smile until we leafed through it and said, “Oh. OH.” Because when a product is free from all the things we try to avoid and it’s proven in a clinical trial to decrease the appearance of cellulite on the hips by 75%, do you really need to know much more? The Cream and The Rich Cream have similarly mind-blowing clinical results backing them up, ensuring your stem cells will be working hard from head to toe. (More on that below.)

But to us, the biggest reasons why we brought these products onto our shelves, finally, are the following. First, this stuff is the real deal: it just works on aging skin, and for the skinimalists among you, it makes skincare blissfully simple. And secondly, many of you have asked us for Augustinus Bader, more frequently than any other brand we can think of. Which, dear readers, is as meaningful as anything. Because just as much as you trust us — which we are genuinely grateful for — we trust you, too.

So, what's the deal with stem cells?

We spent a while digging into this, too. Because while many of us can wrap our heads around products designed to protect skin from environmental factors (with sunscreen or antioxidants) or stimulate cell renewal (with acids or retinol), stem cells require a shift in mindset.

Here's the quick explanation: Augustinus Bader’s products are designed to support skin’s innate ability to fix itself. TFC8 was designed to provide your skin with the very specific nutrients it needs to activate its own naturally-existing stem cells — stem cells that could use a little wake-up call and will then go to work where your skin needs them most.

This part is important: these products encourage the activity of stem cells, but do not actually contain human stem cells (or, specifically, the “human stem cell conditioned media” that some other brands rely upon). This is what makes these products very safe, very smart, and exceedingly effective.

To learn more about stem cells in skincare more generally, check out this wonderfully written article from the lovely Brittany Burhop Fallon of NewBeauty. We couldn't have done any better.