Dermatologist Timm Golueke, who launched the anti-aging skincare brand five years ago, isn’t a fan of the model behind many of the physician-led beauty concepts with a medical expert at the heart of their sales pitch and visual presentation. He’s interested in the science of skincare and haircare, which in his case centers on royal fern extracts, not in creating a cult of personality.

“To this day, I am not so much concerned with myself and my person, but with the formulation, the combination of active ingredients,” says Golueke. “Of course, I am a doctor brand since I am a doctor, but perhaps it would be better to say a dermatologist among doctor brands.”

It’s not just in market positioning that Royal Fern has taken a different approach. It might be the first German brand that didn’t launch in Germany. Instead, Golueke initially opted for an exclusive arrangement at the upscale department store Bergdorf Goodman in New York. Currently, Royal Fern sells 12 skincare and haircare products, and two ampoule sets priced from $40 to $250.

The dermatologist, who has been practicing for nearly 20 years, still remembers the morning of the day the brand premiered at Bergdorf Goodman in 2015. “It was a great feeling!” he recalls. “I got up to go to the gym. Sometimes, when you are so much under pressure, you do not realize what you have already achieved. And that morning I finally got it, and this famous song line crossed my mind, ‘If you make it there, you can make it everywhere!’”

The “New York, New York” lyrics sung by Frank Sinatra proved prescient for Royal Fern. After the brand established a foothold in New York, it spread elsewhere in the United States (it’s available at Violet Grey and Facegym locations in the country), and to German-speaking nations and Asia. This month, Royal Fern is making its debut at luxury e-tailer Net-a-Porter, where it will join an assortment with fellow German brands Augustinus Bader and Dr. Barbara Sturm. It’s also one of the few German brands stocked by Shinsegae, Korea’s largest luxury department store. Golueke says, “It’s a great honor for me to be accepted as a German brand in this country with its iconic beauty culture.”

Golueke had the idea for Royal Fern four years before it hit the market. He developed the brand with Berlin biochemist Leonhard Zastrow. “My patients always asked me when I was going to start my own skincare,” says Golueke. “They inspired me to develop a line that responds to the modern skin problems that I encounter in my practice every day.” His response resulted from a study Golueke came across examining the positive effects of fern extracts in melanoma treatment. Additional studies have shown the plant with the magnificent fronds helps with fighting both genetic and environmental skin aging by protecting cell DNA.

Royal Fern couples fern extracts with other potent active ingredients such as vitamin C, hyaluronic acid and retinol in its products. It’s vegan and, currently, the only brand that leverages the benefits of the super plant to its advantage. Golueke details that fern extract has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antioxidant and moisture-regulating properties, and it reduces excess pigments, and stimulates the production of new collagen while slowing its degradation. The dermatologist registered a patent for his brand’s Royal Fern Complex, a blend of fern extract, mineral oxides, and wild rose, sea buckthorn and voacanga tree oils.

Out of Royal Fern’s dozen products, Golueke’s personal favorite is the bestselling Phytoactive Cream. He touts that it “absorbs quickly and makes the skin feel great because the complex is wrapped in liposomes and therefore releases slowly.”

Golueke’s experience as a dermatologist provides him with insight into how consumers understand and apply skincare today. “Consumers have realized that skincare is a matter of individual skin type, skin problems and lifestyle,” he says. “Today, there is more room for individuality. I believe that this is one reason for the strong boom of niche brands. Anyone can tailor their routine.”

Golueke thinks that not all beauty products in a consumer’s routine need to be from the same brand. Contemporary consumers turn to different brands at different price points. But Golueke cautions consumers that they shouldn’t get carried away. He says the overemployment of beauty products, a tendency that can lead to perioral dermatitis. “You don’t need ten different products for ten different skin concerns,” emphasizes Golueke. “That is why my line was developed as an all-in-one line. A consumer needs just a few of our products deliver the maximum effect.”

Royal Fern has plans to grow its assortment with select key items in the future. “We will remain true to our principle and continue to expand the hair and body categories,” says Goleuke. “Next year, we will launch a face mist, which has one incredibly special feature, and I myself have already been hooked on it!”