At the heart of the brand

Origins

1873. Alsace is annexed by Prussia and the new occupants impose on the Alsatians what will later be called "the Option": stay on their land and become Prussian, or retain their French nationality but be dispossessed of all their goods
This is the choice made by Arsène, ancestor of the founder. In a document kept in the archives, he declared " not wanting to give his children to Prussia " and asked to be given a concession in Algeria where he had already wanted to emigrate 30 years earlier.
Installed in a small village in the Constantine region with his wife and two sons, he works a land of 35 hectares of olive trees, prickly pear, orange trees, partly drained by the Fendeck wadi.
Family legend relates that the man sported a long black beard commonly worn during the Second Empire. He used to maintain it by applying a mixture of local oils produced from Mediterranean plants.
The brand pays homage to the founder's ancestor by adapting the original formula to contemporary needs and offering beard care products from its launch. In the patriotic family tradition, the brand only integrates French suppliers and artisans into its production and sources its supplies from short circuits.
Read more about Arsène’s story

Our engagement

N°1 A response to real needs

We design our treatments in response to real needs, expressed by our customers by seeking the best synergies in our ingredients. We do not produce our treatments based on perfume, we develop them based on the condition and needs of your skin, hair and beard.

No. 2 Quality and Performance

Our selection of ingredients is based on the benefits provided, their quality and their purity. We use organic vegetable oils, mostly cold pressed, to preserve their vitamin, mineral, antioxidant and unrefined properties. The content of ingredients of organic origin is around 90%, or 9 times more than the organic certification criteria. A combination of around twenty plants from preserved French and European biotopes.

N°3 Handcrafted in small batches for optimal freshness

We work with small French laboratories in order to be able to control the traceability and quality of the ingredients, and to manufacture in micro-batches to maintain optimal control of their quality. We thus ensure maximum concentration and the best effectiveness of each of our formulations, without adding aggressive preservatives or cheap supplements. We package our products in ultra-protective purple glass containers that protect against oxidation, thereby extending their shelf life.

N°4 Respectful of our planet

We want to only develop treatments with as little impact as possible on our planet. We do not use any ingredients that are harmful to your skin, your health or the planet, such as petrochemical ingredients, sulfates, detergents, harmful preservatives, dyes or synthetic fragrances. Each of the suppliers of the ingredients used in our formulations undertakes not to use animal materials or production, and does not carry out any testing on animals, to which we are also committed. We have also chosen to only choose recyclable glass for the primary packaging, and to eliminate secondary packaging by replacing it with reusable linen bags. Our boxes do not contain any plastic material, and our shipments are made in reused boxes.

N°5 Selective distribution

We have chosen a distribution that respects its employees and guarantees the values ​​of our brand. We work for the long term, in lasting partnership with our network.

The founder

From his childhood in the Alsatian countryside, the parents of Laurent Fluhr, founder of the brand, will say that he was a curious kid and passionate about Nature.

It is an experience within a large conventional cosmetics group which will reveal to him the necessity and urgency of offering an alternative that is more respectful of oneself and our planet.

Monsieur Arsène was born from this desire to invest in research & development to offer treatments at the cutting edge of green chemistry, rather than in marketing.

And why not for men? The needs exist and the authentic, simple and direct approach, targeting existing needs without creating new ones, corresponded to its founder's values ​​of authenticity and transparency.

The meeting with Valérie, biochemist and manager of a laboratory in Hauts de France where she manufactures her own feminine brand of organic cosmetics, was the starting point of a wonderful collaboration.

If Laurent draws the outlines of the brand and builds the range through detailed specifications, Valérie brings her technical expertise and know-how.

The name of the brand refers to an Alsatian ancestor of Laurent, who has been passionate about Algeria since he was 23. Although he did not obtain his passport in 1843, he received it in 1873 and settled there with his wife and their two children. Oral tradition, perpetuated in the family, it is said that he sported a Second Empire style black beard and that he used, to maintain it, a mixture of Mediterranean oils following a local recipe. The idea of ​​borrowing the recipe and adapting it to contemporary needs was born.

The brand was launched in 2018 with a first collection dedicated to beard care. Three years later, the range has expanded to include more face, hair and beard products and perfumes.