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Do you know who makes the best products? The person suffering from the problem they are trying to solve with the product. Mark Goodson suffered from severe razor burn from the first day he put the blade to his face, and thought that it was a skin condition he would have to live with despite trying every shaving cream on the market.
Committed to having a clear face after a comfortable shave, Mark used his background in technology and research to mix his own shaving lotion remedy. What he discovered will shock you, and some ingredients in his solution came straight from his kitchen cupboard. In fact, women mainly use it to moisturize their hair and skin. Mark's breakout product, Zipp Mist, is a spray-based product that can be used with or without water, and actually helps your skin while in use, rather than damage the hair and skin to ultimately get a closer shave. Mark reveals how he developed the product in our interview with him.
TS: What inspired you to get started?
Developing Zipp Mist was a necessity for me. Because I have very sensitive skin, shaving was a real chore, and I always ended up with a severe case of razor burn. I didn’t want to grow a beard, so my only option was to find a way to shave without making a mess of my face. About five years ago, I started shaving with baby oil, which didn’t work all that well because it was too oily. I read everything I could find about shaving and realized that the high pH factor in shaving cream was one reason shaving irritated my face. And, because shaving cream is thick, it requires a lot of pressure to remove. The harder I pressed, the more damage I was doing to my face. I tried an array of skin-care products – anything that was supposed to be good for your skin. Still frustrated, I tried mixing various products. Finally, last year I discovered the right combination.
TS: What was your background? Was it in what you are doing now?
My background was in industry and technology. I attended Northern Illinois University, where I learned how to do the research that eventually helped me find the right ingredients for Zipp Mist. In the industry and technology program, we learned all facets of production. We learned about welding, electronics, hydraulics, and machine metals. Then I went to California and study for a year for Bell saturation diving. All of my education helped me to solve problems and showed me how to develop and manufacture just about anything as well as how to research and find out information. After five years of research and interaction with chemical engineers from China and the United States, I finally developed my final product.
TS: What type of research did you learn to do that helped you discover the winning combination of ingredients?
I used the Internet for my research, Googling everything I could about shaving. The first thing I looked into was how shaving works and the key components of shaving. Because of my delicate skin condition, I came to the conclusion early on that I wanted to eliminate the pH from my shaving product. I started by using baby oil, but I realized that too much oil doesn’t give you a clean cut. I experimented with every kind of ingredient I could find that might be able to help provide a clean, close shave, eliminate razor burn altogether and moisturize my face in the process. Finally, after five years, I have come up with a combination of ingredients that works.
TS: What led you to use broccoli oil and coconut oil both in the same product?
To explain why we use these oils, I must first explain a little bit about how people shave. Most shaving creams on the market today have a pH factor of about 8.5, which is necessary to temporarily damage hair follicles, which allows moisture in and makes hairs easier to cut. A hair follicle has the same tensile strength as a copper wire of the same diameter, so it is important to moisturize the hair follicles to get a clean cut. The reason we chose broccoli oil and coconut oil is that they have a lower molecular structure and are able to penetrate the hair follicles and allow moisture to get in – without the high pH factor.
TS: What challenge have you had to face that led to a big growth for your company?
My biggest challenge has been educating people about a new way to shave. Zipp Mist is different from what people are used to, and many are apprehensive about trying it. Once people give it a shot, they realize that it’s a better way to remove hair from your face.
TS: You say that educating people has been one of the most essential parts of your growth. How have you found that works best? Video? In person demos? Testimonials? How have you been working to educate the public and how have they best responded?
We are using several avenues to educate people about our product. Right now we have two videos on YouTube, and, since our sales numbers are increasing, we feel they are helping market our product. The videos provide an excellent idea of how Zipp Mist works. We've also been setting up booths at flea markets to interact with people and see how they feel about our product.
We’ve found that shaving has a bad stigma right now. Many men are trying to find an alternative to shaving cream, and many women are using hair conditioner to shave their legs and under their arms. A number of women who were using conditioner and switched to Zipp Mist and got better results. We're working hard to get our product on local TV and national TV so that we can educate more people about our innovative product.
TS: What do you have going on in your business right now that you are excited about?
We are about to add Zipp Mist for women. The ingredients are similar to those of the original Zipp Mist –skin-care products and special oils. The women's version leaves a very slight oil residue. We designed it this way is because women usually add some sort of skin-care product or oil after they're done shaving. They’ll get a comfortable shave that will leave their skin shiny and hydrated from the oil residue. Or, if they prefer, they can work the oil into their skin or simply remove it.
TS: Where would you love to see your business in 5 years?
I would love to see everybody change the way they shave in the next five years. I see a very bright future for my company, especially if a large number of people see the light, give up traditional shaving cream, do their face a favor and switch to Zipp Mist.
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