Lubricity Labs, the homegrown line of anti-frizz hair care products, is expanding in July, rolling out of seven new products, including three sold only in salons.
The company is also in talks with a distributor that would carry its salon-based products and help grow its market share around the country.
The move comes after a huge—and unexpected—growth surge for the startup, founded in 2016 by nuclear physicist Boyce Clark, who developed a highly effective, all-natural, two-step smoothing system to help his frizzy-haired, teenage daughter combat her chronic bad hair days.
Almost overnight, Lubricity Labs was a smash success. But the company had trouble keeping up with demand, particularly after a February 2017 TV news segment about Clark was picked up by dozens of affiliate stations around the country and went viral. The company’s website crashed the next day, after exceeding 16,000 views per minute.
In the 16 months since the surge in demand has slowed to a pace that is manageable for the company, and Clark recalibrated his growth plans, investing in his systems, processes, marketing materials and customer service.
“Now we have the infrastructure in place to handle the next surge,” he says. “So we’re waiting for that to happen.”
It could be soon. Articles about Lubricity Labs are scheduled to appear in upcoming issues of Rachael Ray Every Day and Martha Stewart’s Weddings. The company is also a potential finalist for a Shark Tank appearance next season.
In the meantime, Clark is preparing to launch seven new products, all of which he developed himself in the company’s labs at LSU’s Innovation Park. They include three styling products that will be sold online, as well as a smoothing product called Restore that promises to give users similar results to the original, two-step process in just a fraction of the time.
The company will also launch three salon products, including Q-Smooth—an all-natural, 10-minute alternative to pricey, potentially toxic keratin treatments—and a Q-Smooth shampoo and conditioner.
Clarks says he’s hoping to ink a deal with a distribution company that would help him push the salon products.
“We’re only five people here,” he says. “With a distributor, you have two dozen sales reps every day knocking on doors and promoting your products.”
