Both in Germany and in many other European and non-European countries, there are increasingly more branches of large drugstore chains instead of the formerly existing specialized drugstores. This is different, for example, in Switzerland: there, a trained pharmacist operates the drugstore, as customers should be professionally advised. One of the areas that most often requires consultation involves various types of remedies. While there are also many products available in drugstores and pharmacies here in Germany, in Great Britain, the range of drugstores and pharmacies is already very similar.
Drugstores probably originated in the medieval drugstores. The sale of healing and poisonous herbs was long reserved for pharmacies, which existed from the mid-13th century onwards as a result of the "Salerno Edict". Since the Middle Ages, there have been disputes between pharmacists and drugstore owners over the sale of various medications. It was not until the Imperial Ordinance of 1872 that peace could be more or less ensured. The German Drugstore Association was founded in 1873 to represent the interests of working drugstore owners (especially towards the legislature). Apart from the demand for free drug traffic, the association advocated for a good professional training of aspiring drugstore owners. In 1875, the first part-time vocational school for drugstore owners was founded in Dresden. Until 1974, branded products were subject to price fixing in this country. A modification of the Law against Restrictions on Competition resulted in the removal of the price binding for many products available in drugstores. Since January 2004, there is also no longer a price fixing for non-prescription medicines. The first drugstores in Germany appeared in the early 1970s. Since then, the chain stores have been able to prevail against the traditional drugstore, and there are hardly any traditional specialized drugstores left.
Regardless of whether you enter a drugstore, a drugstore chain store or a drugstore department of a supermarket, you can choose from a considerable number of articles. Of course, we also offer you the categories Animal World, Household, and Baby & Children - but not in the drugstore category. Rather, for reasons of clarity, we have decided to list separate categories. There are five subcategories here, in which you can find everything you need to cleanse, care for and style yourself. Two essential areas in every drugstore - and also in every online shop with a drugstore product range - are Wellness & Health and Hygiene. Get an overview, and you will find that you can save yourself the trip to the nearest drugstore in the future. Because here you have the chance to shop online at your leisure, whenever you want. If you have any questions about the range or your order, please feel free to contact us: under "Contact", an online form is waiting to be filled out and submitted. Of course, you can choose whether we should call you back or send you a reply by email.
The Sumerians already used the first soaps made from potash and oil about 4,000 years before the birth of Christ. However, at that time, the cleansing effect of soap was unknown, and it was used as a remedy. Many centuries later, it was the Romans who used soap to clean their bodies. In the 7th century, the art of soap making developed in the Orient. About 100 years later, the soap making craft also came to Central Europe. In the Middle Ages, diseases such as the plague and syphilis, which appeared, were unfortunately associated with the use of water and soap. Instead, fabrics, powders, and perfumes were preferred in the 16th and 17th centuries. It was only at the beginning of the 19th century that more and more people began to favor washing their bodies. After the end of the First World War, soap could be produced as an industrial mass product. Nowadays, the most important soap additives are vegetable oils and animal fats. The actual soap making process causes the fats to break down - for saponification. The alkaline pH value of the usual soaps has a destructive effect on the acid mantle of the skin. Therefore, people with rather sensitive skin are recommended to use cleansing syndets, which mainly have a pH value of about 5.5 and are therefore gentle on the skin.
Especially in the cold season, many people like to take a bath. If you belong to these people, you should not bathe too often or too long. Because especially in winter, the skin already has a hard time defending itself against the cold outside and the dry air inside. In fact, the moisture loss of the skin is higher in the cold season than in the warm one. Excessive body cleaning only adds to the skin's problems. In our subcategory Baths, you will find both some bath additives and a larger number of shower gels. If you want to find a shower gel quickly in the drugstore category that was developed for men, you can select the subcategory Men's Shower.
A drugstore would not be a drugstore if it did not have care products for the face, body, and hair. This also applies to the drugstore category of our online shop: choose from several manufacturers and product types that you prefer. The most strongly demanded care products are deodorants, hair removal products, toothpaste, and shampoos. Among the best-known brands of care products are Nivea, Bebe, and CD. The products of the EDEKA brand Elkos correspond to a very good price-performance ratio.
Already in the Roman Empire, it was common to clean the teeth. Pumice and marble dust were used. After it became known at the end of the 19th century that dental plaque can cause cavities, more and more emphasis was placed on dental care and the predecessors of today's toothpaste were developed. Until the 1950s, toothpaste could be bought in tin foil tubes; since then, the plastic tube has prevailed.
For a long time, people washed their hair with soap. Only in the 19th century did English hairdressers invent special hair washing products that contained soap flakes and herbal additives. The German chemist Hans Schwarzkopf distributed a powdered shampoo from 1903 onwards and launched the first liquid shampoo for the Schwarzkopf company in 1927. The main ingredients of the now-common hair washing products are water, surfactants (for the actual cleaning), co-surfactants, and film formers (hair protection and better combability).
The subcategory Styling Products gives you the choice between several types of hair gel, hair spray, and foam fixative. Here, too, you will mainly come across well-known brands such as Drei Wetter Taft, Brisk, and Wella.
Toilet paper has existed for a similarly long time as toothpaste: Its existence is documented in writing in the 6th century in China. In the mid-19th century, the first machine-made toilet paper was available in the USA. The toilet paper we know on rolls comes from the late 19th century. Until the end of the 1950s, it was very rough crepe paper, which was gradually replaced by the much softer tissue paper.
Women used grass or cotton pads and tampons during their menstruation already millennia ago. The first disposable pads were available at the end of the 19th century, and the first tampons in the 1950s. Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble are among the best-known companies that manufacture feminine hygiene products.
Also in the drugstore category, you will find teas, capsules, and tablets that help you in case of illness or provide you with additional vitamins and minerals. Products that can help you in case of a cold, for example, are Doppel Herz Elderberry & Vitamin C+Zinc and EDEKA Cold Relief Bath. Here in this shop, choose from several useful food supplements from the Doppel Herz activ brand: Our range includes products such as Doppel Herz Magnesium+Potassium and Doppel Herz Iodine+Folic Acid+Iron 45 Tablets. Special health teas from EDEKA can have a soothing effect, for example, in case of digestive problems, stress, or coughing.