Avene

In 1736, according to local legend, a nobleman's horse was suffering from an irritable skin condition. The animal wandered to a spring in the small village of Avène, deep in the Haut-Languedoc mountains of southern France, and drank from and bathed in the water. The skin healed. Almost three centuries later, that spring feeds a hydrotherapy centre, a research laboratory, and a global skincare brand that treats more than 2,800 patients with dermatological conditions every year — and ships thermal spring water to pharmacies in 100 countries.

The spring at Avène produces water with a unique mineral composition: low mineral content overall (266 mg/L), a near-neutral pH, and a distinctive ratio of silicates, bicarbonates, and trace elements including strontium and manganese. What makes it therapeutically interesting is its resident microflora — the water harbours a specific community of microorganisms, particularly Aquaphilus dolomiae, which produces anti-inflammatory compounds. This is not marketing folklore. The French National Academy of Medicine recognised the Avène thermal spring water's therapeutic properties in 1874, and the Avène Hydrotherapy Centre has been a licensed medical facility since 1990, treating conditions including atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, eczema, and post-burn scarring.

The Pierre Fabre connection

Avène is owned by Pierre Fabre, a French pharmaceutical group founded in 1962 by the pharmacist of the same name in Castres, near Toulouse. Pierre Fabre purchased the Avène spring and its surrounding estate in 1975, recognising that the clinically validated thermal water could anchor a dermocosmetic brand with genuine medical credibility. The company invested in a state-of-the-art bottling and manufacturing facility directly at the spring source — products are formulated and filled onsite, using water piped directly from the subterranean source to prevent contamination or mineral degradation.

This is a meaningful distinction. Many "thermal water" brands use water that has been transported, stored, and processed before incorporation into formulations. Avène manufactures at the source. The water that goes into Avène Thermal Spring Water Spray was underground hours before it entered the can.

The sensitive-skin authority