Intimate wellness/skincare brand Bushbalm doesn’t beat around the bush when it relates to intimate care. Cofounder and CEO David Gaylord talks about the brand’s founding, its viral success and the category’s promising future.

What sparked the idea for Bushbalm?

The idea behind Bushbalm was created by accident like many great ideas are. After a long and fun day on the beach during my co-founders’ honeymoon, Tim [Burns] headed back up to the room and decided to apply face oil ‘down there’ to freshen up. Tim and Mel [Burns] both loved the results they experienced and realized the skin benefits that could come of this unintentional discovery. Fast-forward several years and countless hours of research, the couple is taking face quality skin care to areas and skin concerns that have seemingly been ignored by the beauty industry. Think ingrown hairs, razor burn, dark spots and more.

Can you speak to the product formulation?

We know consumers are asking for better and safer products, as well as cleaner ingredients with no harsh chemicals—especially when it comes to intimate areas. We create products for common skin concerns that are often ignored. We believe this category has gone from an afterthought to something that is going to be really exciting in the future as our hero products are really an everyday essential for anyone grooming their body hair. The ingredients used in Bushbalm products are carefully considered, and the products are reviewed and tested by our in-house dermatologist and gynecologist before launch.

Our assortment includes our most viral product yet, the Hydrogel Vajacial Mask. It is a hydrogel mask for the pubic region made from a water-soluble material formulated with aloe vera, hyaluronic acid and green tea to calm and reduce the look of redness after hair removal and helps leave skin feeling hydrated and rejuvenated. It’s the ultimate self-care product that takes your post-hair removal routine to the next [level].

When Bushbalm was first released, did you anticipate it would be as popular as it is?

We knew we had something special when we started receiving support from our waxing community. The company’s focus on pre- and post-wax care has grown its waxing salon presence by over 400% in the past year. We may have been looked at it as a niche product at one point, but expanding into over 1,500 waxing and hair removal spas, and 900 Ultas clearly shows how strong demand is for a product like Bushbalm.

What’s next for the brand?

For the next few years, we are solely focused in the US on growing our Ulta Beauty business, as well as our professional program. Consumers are out shopping in-person, whether it’s at Ulta Beauty, or while they are getting their bikini wax. We want our products to be where they are and easily accessible. Later this year, Bushbalm will launch several new products, including a limited-edition scent to our signature Ingrown Hair Oil, as well as several new products focused on hair removal irritation. Expect to see at least four product launches before the end of 2023, as we aim to expand the overall category of hair removal specific to the bikini line and solidify ourselves as the leading experts.