Some makeup brands come out of the beauty world. Others start somewhere else entirely. Kryolan is the second kind.
It starts in Berlin, 1945. Arnold Langer, a chemist and a theater obsessive, wanted to make makeup for the theaters reopening across the city after World War II. He mixed creams and pigments in a small lab, and on August 14, 1945, Kryolan was born. Its first products went straight to those reopening stages.
More than 80 years later, Kryolan is still family-owned by the Langers, run now by the second and third generations. The same braid of chemistry, creativity, and professional makeup that defined it at the founding is still the center of its identity.
Stats
- 1945 - year founded
- 80+ - years in business
- 3 - generations of the Langer family
A brand born for the stage
In the years after the war, Berlin’s theaters reopened, and they needed makeup. Arnold Langer arrived with a love of theater and a background in chemistry.
That pairing still explains most of Kryolan.
The brand didn’t begin with a trend or a product designed for a cosmetics shelf. It began with a professional need.
Kryolan has long since expanded past stage makeup. The current catalog runs from foundations and concealers to face and body paint, camouflage systems, HD products, airbrush, hair effects, special effects, and professional equipment.
Timeline
- 1945 - Arnold Langer founds Kryolan on August 14, in a small lab in Berlin, and develops makeup for the theaters reopening in the city
- 1950 - Operations expand into East Berlin as early as 1947, operating there from 1950 under the name Coloran
- 1960s-70s - The move to international operations - a new headquarters on Papierstrasse, still used by the company today, and exports to the United States
- 1975 - Kryolan creates Dermacolor, a camouflage system designed to address skin conditions and discoloration, not just conventional makeup
- 1992-2004 - Expansion into London, Poland, and Latin America. In 2004, according to the brand’s official history, Kryolan makeup was used at the Athens Olympics
- 2005-2014 - Launch of HD Make-up and Dermacolor Light, alongside continued international expansion
- 2025 - Kryolan’s 80th anniversary - still family-owned by the Langers, run by the second and third generations
Make-up Is a Science
“Make-up Is a Science” is the line Kryolan carries today, and it fits a brand founded by a chemist unusually well.
It also isn’t only a slogan.
Kryolan emphasizes that it develops its own formulas and recipes and manufactures its own makeup products - a tradition it links directly to how the company has operated since its founding.
That explains why the catalog looks nothing like a standard beauty brand’s. Kryolan has to serve people who want everyday makeup and professionals working in fields where makeup is a technical instrument: on-camera transformations, stage work, face and body painting, camouflage, and special effects.
The world of Kryolan makeup
The fastest way into Kryolan is through the systems it has built over the years.
01 · CAMOUFLAGE - Dermacolor. Kryolan’s camouflage system, created in 1975, which has since grown into a family of products for coverage, color correction, and setting. This is the part of Kryolan I know most deeply from my own professional work - which is why I’ve dedicated a separate, in-depth guide to it (see below).
02 · CREAM MAKE-UP - Supracolor. A cream makeup with full coverage and very high pigmentation - up to 44%, according to Kryolan. Used both for skin-tone makeup and for color effects, and also available as a kit built for film, television, stage, and photography work.
03 · FACE & BODY - Aquacolor. A glycerin-based compact makeup, richly pigmented, activated with a small amount of water and designed mainly for face and body painting. Available in both skin tones and bold colors.
04 · CAMERA COMPLEXION - High Definition / Digital Complexion. As camera technology has evolved, Kryolan has expanded its products designed for work in front of high-resolution cameras - today, two separate product families in the company’s catalog.
Alongside those four families sits a whole world of Special Effects, plus Hair Effects, Airbrush, and professional equipment. That range - everyday makeup and concealer at one end, professional effects at the other - is a big part of what makes Kryolan such an unusual brand.
Featured product: Kryolan Dermacolor Camouflage Creme.
Dermacolor and me
Personal perspective
Dermacolor is the Kryolan system I know most deeply.
I’ve worked with it for years, and I lean on it especially in bridal makeup and in my professional work generally. But I don’t only pull it out when I want full coverage.
Sometimes it’s a high-coverage base. Sometimes it’s targeted correction over a lighter look. Sometimes it’s contour, color correction, or a base around the under-eye.
That range is exactly why, to me, Dermacolor is much more than “the makeup that covers everything.”
My full Dermacolor guide goes deep on the shade system, the NB, ELO, and OB families, the palettes I’ve built for myself, correctors, color mixing, covering dark circles, breakouts, pigmentation, and tattoos, setting, and how I actually work with all of it.
[Link to the full Kryolan Dermacolor guide once published]
Editorial stance
Kryolan’s catalog is enormous, which is exactly why I keep familiarity with a brand separate from a personal professional recommendation. When I write about a product here from real personal experience, that recommendation has to come from actual work with it.
Dermacolor gets the attention it does because it’s the Kryolan system I have years of professional experience with. I’ll expand on the other families and products as I work with them, test them in depth, or research them thoroughly enough to justify a full review.
Frequently asked questions about Kryolan
What is Kryolan? Kryolan is a professional makeup brand founded in Berlin in 1945 by Arnold Langer. The brand began by developing makeup for Berlin’s theaters and today operates across many areas of professional makeup, including face and body makeup, camouflage, HD, airbrush, and special effects.
Where is Kryolan from? Kryolan was founded in Berlin, Germany, and its roots lie in the city’s theater world after World War II.
Who founded Kryolan? Kryolan was founded by Arnold Langer, who had a background in chemistry and a love of theater. According to the company’s official history, he wanted to create makeup for the theaters reopening in Berlin.
Is Kryolan a German brand? Yes. Kryolan was founded in Berlin in 1945, and its headquarters remains in Berlin today.
Is Kryolan a professional brand? Yes. The brand grew out of theater work and continues to develop products aimed at professional fields such as stage, photography, face and body work, camouflage, airbrush, and special effects.
Is Kryolan only for professional makeup artists? No. The products are available to anyone, though a large share of the catalog and the brand’s identity is built around professional work. Kryolan also runs a dedicated PRO CARD program for makeup-industry professionals.
What are Kryolan’s best-known makeup lines? Kryolan’s product families include Dermacolor, Supracolor, Aquacolor, High Definition, Digital Complexion, Nebula, and others.
What is Dermacolor? Dermacolor is Kryolan’s camouflage system, created in 1975. There’s enough to know about working with it - the shade system above all - that we’ve given it a separate professional guide here at The Loren Standard.
Sources: Kryolan’s official site and the brand’s official history.
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