If you have teenage boys, you might be looking for SOMETHING to help teach them about personal grooming and hygiene. Something that will stem the growing stench, something that isn’t too sissy and won’t give them man-boobs. (Yep, there are serious links between parabens in deodorant and man boobs!!)
Co-founder of the 808 Dude range, Carolyn Palliardi, says the inspiration for her new grooming products for teen boys stemmed from her desire to give her kids toiletries that were good for their health and not packed with damaging chemicals. Co-author of the book ‘The Best Beauty Products Tried and Tested’, this journalist and TV presenter really knows what she’s talking about. Carolyn is also the former fashion and beauty editor at the Sunday Herald Sun.
Co-founder 808 Dude – Carolyn Palliardi
The first name for the range was originally plain old ‘Dude’, because, as Carolyn says, it’s a word that’s used by teen boys all the time and one they can relate to. ‘Of course we wanted to trademark it and we couldn’t, so we had to think outside the box. I couldn’t think of another word to link it to, so started looking at numbers. 808 came up and it means disturbing the peace in America, so it has a rebellious feel to it. It’s also the name of a drum machine, so we thought it was cool enough for the boys to relate to.’
Mum to Emmanuel, aged 14 and 10-year-old Chloe, Carolyn initially came across a gap in the market for teen boys when her son was preparing for his first school camp. ‘He needed a deodorant and wanted me to buy him a well-known brand that’s particularly stinky and is marketed towards young men. Having a passion for fashion and beauty writing, plus a curiosity about products, I found it really hard giving my son – at his young age – products that were so chemically related.’
Carolyn is a firm believer in the theory that what we put ON our bodies and skin, really does affect our health. ‘There was absolutely nothing on the market for him that was suitable. Especially in that growing phase when there’s changes in the body. There were some natural products – tea-tree oil based – but they stank so much you couldn’t get kids to wear that. So one day I suggested to a girlfriend we make our own and she agreed and that’s how it all started.’
After two and a half years of hard work, Carolyn’s product was born and is now on the market. There’s a deodorant, a shampoo and body wash, plus a skincare product called ‘808 Dude Zit Wash’. All very teen friendly names on these babies! There are more products in the pipeline, including products for teen girls, plus a ‘Camp Pack’ for parents to give kids to take on school trips.
808 Dude Teen Grooming Products
