Definition of Lubricity: The capacity for reducing friction
Soon after my daughter Alden turned 11, she decided she was too old to wear her hair in ponytails or braids. She wanted to style her hair like older girls did because she was now an older girl herself. As a single father, I put on a brave face and told her that I would do whatever I could to help her as she learned to navigate the complicated world of haircare.
We quickly learned that Alden’s hair was not easy to style. Her thick, course locks often tangled, would not hold a smooth style, and no amount of over-the-counter products seemed to last through a full school day. And why, I wondered, did her hair seem to grow bigger every time we brushed her hair or when she stepped outside into the thick Louisiana humid air?
I thought there might be a salon solution that would help, so I began researching salon offerings only to learn that popular keratin-based straightening treatments were expensive, time consuming and contained formaldehyde, a known cancer-causing chemical. I was not going to expose my young daughter to such a harsh chemical process.
As a father, I was extremely frustrated. As a PhD chemist, I was intrigued. Why did humidity make her hair bigger? What were the chemical and structural bonds that caused her tangles and frizz? There had to be a scientific answer to these questions and a better solution to these problems than exposing people to the same toxins used in the embalming process.
At the time, I was working in the energy industry and was set to travel to the Arctic Circle for a month-long project. I checked out two books, each 700 plus pages, on the anatomy, morphology and composition of hair. I thought that if I could understand why her hair behaved the way it did, then I could create a solution to our problems. I used my time on the long flights to and from the Arctic Circle as well as my non-working downtime to do just that.
When I returned home, the experiments began. I contacted pharmaceutical and personal care companies that were developing cutting-edge compounds capable of changing the molecular structure of hair. For over six months, I would test various formulas I created on Alden, often trying one solution on half of her hair and another on the other side of her hair. I would measure results, document them, and continue improving my formulas. I spared no expense – after all, this was all for the betterment of my daughter’s hair, and I used only high-end, naturally derived ingredients. At formula number 17, we had a breakthrough.
Alden’s hair was soft, shiny and manageable. She didn’t wake up with tangles and her hair didn’t frizz when she stepped outdoors. I was thrilled. She was elated. I made a large batch of #17 and stored it in a 5-gallon bucket, thinking that would be enough to get us through her teenage years. My journey was complete, or so I thought.
When Alden returned to school, she came home with notes from her teachers asking what we had done to her hair and where could they buy the products. So I started scooping out my creation into plastic containers and sending them to her teachers. The word quickly spread and within a few short months, my five gallon bucket was almost empty.
Then I got a call from a local spa that specializes in high-end retail products, including many top haircare brands. The owner told me he had heard about my creation, and he wanted to carry my product line. I looked at my nearly empty bucket and thought “my product line?”. I told him I needed 30 days, and Lubricity Labs was born.
Lubricity Labs’ products are now available in several salons in Baton Rouge and are sold direct to clients via our website at www.lubricitylabs.com. We offer professional strength formulas for salons only as well as an at-home treatment, shampoo and conditioner, and a men’s line of products.
Lubricity Labs was recently selected as the winner of PitchBR, a local Shark Tank style competition where start-up businesses compete to earn funds through the venture capitalist firm Innovation Catalyst. With these investment funds, Lubricity Labs will undertake an aggressive marketing campaign to help build our brand and increase our client base.
I don’t think I could have imagined going from making products in my home kitchen to producing on a large-scale in a fully equipped lab. I am humbled by the tremendous response I have gotten to my products and am excited about the future.
Dr. Boyce Clark
CEO and Founder, Lubricity Labs, LLC
To learn more about Lubricity Labs or to shop online, please visit www.lubricitylabs.com.