Alessandro

Alessandro International was founded in Düsseldorf in 1989 by Sylvia Troska, who already ran several manicure salons at the time. She had traveled to the United States in the early 1980s, encountered acrylic nail modeling applied directly to the natural nail, trained in the technique, and brought it back to Germany, where demand grew quickly among salon professionals. In 1990, working with chemists, she introduced a UV-curing gel system designed to avoid the aggressive acids common in earlier nail products — among the first companies to commercialize that approach for professional use. The company expanded across Europe through the 1990s, with production based in Langenfeld and turnover surpassing 17 million German marks by 1998. Its best-known current line is Striplac, a peel-off UV gel-polish system sold in more than 100 shades and marketed to last up to fifteen days without the acetone soak required by conventional gel removal. The brand also sells hand and nail care lines — including ceramide and hyaluronic-acid hand creams and nail hardeners — built around what it calls a 'skinification' approach to nail care, and operates a professional/B2B division alongside its consumer business. Alessandro International was acquired by Wilde Cosmetics in December 2018.