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ASCP Esty Talk
Ep 337 – Simple, Sophisticated Skin Care with Will Parker
00:23:26
Will Parker is the founder and formulator of Parker Williams Skincare, a brand dedicated to simple, sophisticated skin care solutions for men. In this episode of ASCP Esty Talk, Maggie and Ella sit down with Will to learn about his pivot into...
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- [00:00]
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- [01:33]
Ella Cressman
Hello and welcome to ASUP STTalk. I'm Ella Cressman, licensed esthetician, great listener and content contributor for Associated Skincare Professionals.
- [01:42]
Maggie Stasik
I am Maggie Stasik, licensed esthetician and ASCP's program director.
- [01:47]
Ella Cressman
We are very lucky to have today's guest. Actually I do have a great story about this guy, but before we get into that, let's welcome Will Parker, the founder and formulator of Parker Williams Skincare, a men's skincare line focused on simplicity and performance. This work that he does with this brand centers on creating effective, easy to use products and make skincare more accessible and approachable for men. You might remember, but before launching his own brand, Will was the co founder of ColorUp, a wellness focused skincare company where he led product development. His formulations earned over 20 industry awards establishing him as a respected innovator in the field. Welcome Will.
- [02:28]
Will Parker
Thank you, thank you Maggie and Ella. So great to be here. I'm really excited.
- [02:33]
Ella Cressman
I actually have a a story about you too Will. For those who don't know, you're a really good human. One time we were at an event cause I I worked with him just for disclosure but we were at this event and I was really nervous about something. I was actually nervous to see someone and Will came up to me like the voice of calm and he says get in a power stance. And I was like power stance? He said yep, put your hands on your hips, put your shoulders back and that will make you feel better. And sure enough it did. So for all of our listeners out there, if you're ever feeling nervous or anything, this is that has brought me through many different occasions since. So thanks, Will. I appreciate that.
- [03:16]
Will Parker
Oh, you're very welcome. It's some advice that I took up somewhere, and it's been extremely beneficial for me in those moments. So I'm very happy to be able to share that. And, you know, thank you for, for allowing me to share that. Even that space.
- [03:28]
Ella Cressman
Way to pay it forward. So you didn't intend to be in skincare per se. You started in an industry that will, let's just say, is very Colorado. But how did you pivot into skin care formulation?
- [03:42]
Will Parker
Oh, it's a great question. So you're very right. I, I, I moved to Denver in around 2013, and I was introduced to the emerging cannabis industry. At the time, CV was kind of getting a lot of buzz, and it was trending within the industry. It had a very unique legal standing, and there was a lot of research coming out about its potential therapeutic benefits. And during the time, a very close friend of mine was also going to school for massage therapy. You know, one day we were kind of sitting around and talking about kind of business ideas and, you know, our plans for the future. And we kind of, you know, developed this idea where we were like, DBD could really be a great ingredient to use. And at the time, we were focused on massage products. And so, you know, personally, I was actually in college at the time for a very unrelated degree. I was going for electrical engineering. I did not see formulation in my bingo card for that year or any year leading up then. And, you know, I had realized that going through my coursework, I really enjoyed biology and my chemistry courses. I really, really love learning about the building blocks of everything around us and how these things interact and, you know, why things are the way they are. And then on top of that, the biology side of it was, you know, you, you extrapolate that into biological processes, so, like, how our body works and how different substances and different molecules can interact in our body internally and topically and, you know, all the, the physical and mental effects they can have. And so we were kind of gaining some traction with, with the massage product idea, and I decided to switch my degree to biology with a minor in chemistry. And it just, it just seemed more aligned with where my professional career was going at the time and the company that I was working on, you know, and we, we had this one product, it was a massage lotion, actually, that at the time, none of us had any formal training in formulations or cosmetic Science. And so we had very simple formulations, but we, we had this massage lotion that was unstable. And I kind of stepped up and took on the role to try and solve the issues with it. And, you know, I really, I used the resources I had available at school, whether it be, you know, textbooks or research papers, and it kind of just really taught myself the foundation of. Of formulation and cosmetic sciences. And I end up fixing the massage lotion. But at that point, I was, I was hooked. I was very intrigued. It was a challenge. It was very exciting for me. And so I started working on a few other products and like, trying to develop ideas of, you know, how could we use CBD and other products. And I come up with the idea of trying to put it a facial serum. It seemed like a great product to add it into a very targeted delivery. And we. I finally worked out that formula and shared it with some estheticians and a local aesthetic school owner. And we got really great feedback. It was a very, like, surprise when I was like, oh, this was, you know, like a fun project for us. And, and now it's turned into something that this could actually turn into a, a viable product. And what we really learned from that was that there was really no pro professional skincare out there that utilize CBD as the hero ingredient. So, you know, we talked amongst ourselves and was like, let's take this challenge on. I think we could do this. And you know, that was kind of the basis of. Of us getting us as a company and be as a person getting into formulations and especially on the skin care side of it. And you know, you had mentioned before that I, I went on to create like over 40 products for that company, you know, that the one. Dozens of awards in the industry. So much support from the community and, and other industry leaders throughout Colorado and the rest of the country, and did that for eight years. Very proud of everything we accomplished. But around 20, 23, kind of started going different ways with our life and kind of our ideals of the company. And so I ended up stepping away at that point. And you know, personally, I, I kind of thought that may have been the end of my, my time as a formulator, you know, and, and I stepped away and then went to pursue other things and moved down to Arizona and kind of thought that was the end of that chapter. But yeah, it was very happenstance. We, it was very organic. We. We kind of saw this need and I really enjoyed the challenge of, of learning formulation sciences and cosmetic sciences. And that was kind of the, the, the birthing of me as a formulator, if you would say, and you pivoted.
- [08:05]
Maggie Stasik
Again into another niche, what is your thought process reasoning when formulating men's skin care in particular?
- [08:12]
Will Parker
So this go round, it was a lot more personal for me. I, after leaving the company, I moved to Arizona fully, had planned to start a new career or revisit some old dreams and pursue some other things that I had talked about. Was more of some passion projects and went out. The company got me a big supply of the products I loved. And as I was here in Arizona, I started running low on those products. And so I had to go out and actually start shopping again for men's skin care. And what I realized was that number one, being here and ignoring my skin was not an option. 100, 120 degree days, dry heat, constant sun. It just, I wasn't going to. My skin wouldn't take it. It just, I was dry. It was, it was pretty rough. And so I had to find some new skincare. So I started shopping again. And what I found was that there's a limited selection in a lot of stores. Some of the ones that had a decent selection, they were very complex routines and it didn't really fit naturally into my minimalist morning schedule. And a lot of the products were also basic. They were very, just, you know, moisturizing and a wash. But nothing really that kind of was targeted for the problems that I was having. And I, I felt like I probably wasn't the only guy out there having these issues. And then on top of that, I'm an ingredient reader. You know, I sit and I read the label and I'm very judgy when it comes to ingredients and ingredient decks on product. And I just really couldn't find anything that I, I really love as far as, you know, the ingredient goes. And my philosophy always has been it's like use clean ingredients that are effective and leave out all the other bs. Like we don't need all the other stuff in there. That's like, let's get it down to this like minimalist approach and let's, let's use what works, don't use what does it and leave it at that. And so I couldn't find what I wanted. So basically I decided to make it. And that was like my, that was like my personal pain points for coming into then skin care. But then, you know, expanding on that a little bit. The other side of that is most men out there do not want to, they want affordable skin care. The market for men, anything that has really Good targeted results. Any sophisticated ingredient decks are usually at the very high end of the price range. There wasn't any middle ground that was accessible for people and that, you know, as a guy, we, we've always been taught, like, real men on your skin care and, you know, like, why are you taking care of yourself like that? Like, that's just not, like, traditionally how men view taking care of their skin especially. I grew up in the south, so it wasn't a big thing down there. And that's part of kind of what we're trying to change. And so, you know, we wanted something affordable if you have a man in your life, you know, that we're not cheap, that we will spend money on things that make our life simpler or help get a job done. And, you know, we, we wanted to translate that over to skincare, basically. And so I got back in the lab, which basically at the time was me building a small R and D lab at my house, and I, you know, just started formulating products again, and I, I, I kind of created this vision of, like, what would be the perfect product for myself. And I was sort of research Southwest ingredients. I was very inspired by just the elements of the Southwest and the resilience that is seen throughout the desert here. And it's in this very extreme climate. And I found some really interesting ingredients. Copper tripeptides, a lot of extracts from cactus, different types of cactus species, and different parts of the cactus itself, as well as shrubs and other just plants and herbs that are local down here and native to the Southwest. And I knew then that I wanted to make it a very simple line with just a few products. If I didn't have a time for nine steps in the morning, that I know most of my fellows out there didn't either. And at the end of the day, like, a simple routine will make it much easier for men who are not used to skincare to build better skincare habits. And that was really, like, my driving motivation for this line.
- [12:25]
Ella Cressman
I think that's interesting. So it's born out of pain points in both scenarios. And then it continues to evolve. And you've been doing this for a while, and you can see the evolution of your thought and the inspiration in that seems to be the driving force for you. But what would you say has changed? Instead of initial, you know, you pivot your degree because you're entering into this new space. You pivot now, again, because out of necessity, you want something for yourself, and you're not finding it in traditional stores, and you're getting this inspiration. What do you think has been the biggest change or changes from the first.
- [13:03]
Will Parker
To now, industry wise? I want to say that just the type of companies out there, the. In the beginning it seemed that the market was very much controlled by major brands that put out a lot of different products. And now I think you see the indie presence really on the rise. You see a lot more smaller name brands that fall in very specific niches. And also there's been kind of this push of entrepreneurialism, you know, in the world, especially with a lot of younger people. And there are a lot of different little companies popping up. Now, whether these companies are just reselling products they're buying or they're having private label or white label. You know, I, I don't really know. I think a lot of them seem to share kind of similar ingredient decks and stuff like that. So I think a lot of that stems from people, you know, wanting to create their own line, wanting to create their own brand. And I think that's like one of the biggest changes. Another thing is that just the education and knowledge around that I see is evolving. I think that there was a lot of like fear mongering and false information being spread around really quickly with the rise in social media and people trying to make content and, you know, finding a very small research paper about something and running with it and blowing it up into this big thing that's, you know, not really the intent or really the same. They generalize results from these research papers that are much more complex than what they're like putting out to the public. And so I, I'm, I'm very happy to say that I, I think that's kind of changing and I think the consumers are becoming a little more knowledgeable and understanding, you know, even the difference between natural and synthetic. And there was a, even myself, you know, I was very big in the natural things. But what I've learned is that while natural is very good, in a lot of cases, it doesn't always equal best. There are many, many, many synthetic or natural identical ingredients that are very great and they usually hold a better shelf life and are more stable and more consistent than their natural counterparts. And, you know, that was a hard lesson learned for me because I feel that I just, you know, it's very easy. You want to have this black and white, right, like good and bad and natural versus synthetic. I think that now I think we're kind of breaking down those walls and kind of seeing that really moderation and good formulations are really the key to what's good and bad. You shouldn't rely so much on a, on a, on a category of a product or an ingredient as much.
- [15:35]
Ella Cressman
I wholeheartedly agree with that and I love that you're saying that because it's. I remember back. And Maggie, you know, I've talked about this several times. You can find a paper on a lot of different things and, and summarize or just read the abstract and then run with it. In fact, I've had exchanges with different professionals were like, nope, this is always the case. And the one thing that I tote a lot is like science is a race without a finish. There's always going to be. You have to keep an open mind to some things and you can't necessarily live in such an absolute black and white area of good and bad categories. I think there is definitely room for everybody at the party.
- [16:13]
Maggie Stasik
That's the skincare industry, I mean between influencers and trends and the science. Aesthetics never is black and white.
- [16:21]
Ella Cressman
I agree.
- [16:22]
Will Parker
Very great way to put it is that science is a race with no end. And you know, we had to be okay with saying that we were wrong or saying that that research was not complete. And I think a lot of times it's hard, it's hard for us to say that. Right. Because it doesn't have that confidence. It doesn't provide the confidence that most of the time that you need when you're trying to put something out to people. And I think that that needs to be something that we need to shift a little bit and be okay with saying like, hey, this was what we thought was right at the time. But we've evolved and we've learned more and now we're shifting this a tad bit. You know, obviously you don't want to go just making willy nilly decisions and then having no accountability at all. But you know, so it's very interesting to see, see that shift you were.
- [17:09]
Maggie Stasik
Talking about the use of natural verse, synthetic will and that that was a lesson you've learned. Would you say that is one of your I learned this the hard way lessons or what would you say is something, whether it's formulating or in the lab that has been. I learned this the hard way.
- [17:26]
Will Parker
So I've never, I'm getting personal now. I've never actually been super organized. Right. I never was a good note taker. I'm very in the moment with it and I'm not good at documenting things where I wasn't in the past. And that was one of the big lessons that I learned. Is anyone out there that wants to start formulations or any sort of sciences like that. Document everything, write stuff down, make notes to yourself. It can be a silly note, it can be a serious note. Make notes, because at the end of the day, you may feel like you remember exactly what happened that time. But a week later, and after you've made six more concept formulas, it's very easy for all that to blend together. And so documenting things allows you to go back and relive that process and really, really pinpoint in, like, notice like, oh, I saw a color change here, or I may have saw a little bit of precipitation or, you know, or even trying products like, there was a slight bit appealing when I put this on top of this other product. And a lot of times we trust our memory a little too much. At least personally, I do. So documenting everything was a huge thing for me. Being organized. And if you're out there thinking about being a formulator, creating a line, whether it's for fun, whether it's for your personal. It's for your personal use in your salon or your practice, go ahead and start creating as formal of a sop or standing operating procedure or recipe, if you want to call it. But go ahead and start creating those in the beginning. Like, it's never too early to start documenting your process like that, because that's what's really going to set you apart after you do it for a little while. And then if it grows into something and you ever have to scale, you're going to have to go back and do this anyway. So this is. It was a very important lesson being learned to also just, you know, being. Being upfront with creating my SOPs and my recipes, documenting everything really well. Those are some of the. The hardest lessons that I learned. And that if anyone ever wants to dive into this, definitely go ahead and start off with a pen and pad before anything else. You know, just write everything down.
- [19:37]
Maggie Stasik
Definitely good advice.
- [19:39]
Ella Cressman
It makes me think about my husband and I and the difference in the way we cook because he is a recipe follower. And he'll follow the recipe to a T and I'll be like, well, how did it taste? He's like, I don't know. I just put this and that and this and that, and I'm like, this. And, you know, oh, yeah, it needs a little bit of more that. And it's never the same recipe twice. It always comes out good, but not necessarily do I know I got to remember I put that in there last time or how. What did I do it differently? So that is fantastic advice.
- [20:06]
Will Parker
I kind of been the same way with cooking as well. So now I've been trying to write stuff down even with that, because, again, it was. It was a very hard lesson. You know, it is very beneficial at the end of the day.
- [20:16]
Ella Cressman
Well, Will, we want to thank you so much for joining us today. We really appreciate it and definitely inspirational, for sure.
- [20:23]
Will Parker
Maggie and Ella, I'm so grateful to be here. Thank you so much for bringing me on. I was so excited when you mentioned the idea of this. You know, this. This new line is. It's a really personal thing for me. I love what I did at the other company, but this is much more personal. It's much more fun, too. Even if you've ever traveled through the Southwest, I've really tried to, like, capture the beauty of the Southwest and these products with the colors and the textures. And if you've seen the serum, you've got to see some of the products. Just the blue hues, and that's from the actual copper tripeptide. There's nothing synthetic. I'm not like, trying to simulate these colors or textures. These are actually from the ingredients of functional ingredients that we use in it. And so, you know, the wash is very reminiscent of desert sand and stuff. And so it's a very fun line. And so thank you so much for allowing me to come on here and talk about this and my. My journey as a formulator and, you know, and everything I've done at the beginning. So thank you so much.
- [21:13]
Ella Cressman
Absolutely.
- [21:14]
Maggie Stasik
It's been a pleasure.
- [21:15]
Ella Cressman
Well, if people are listening and they want to reach out to ask more questions, what's the best way to get in touch with you?
- [21:21]
Will Parker
You can find us on Instagram and Facebook at Parker Williams Skincare. And then our website is parker williams skincare.com and we. The. The. The website is live now. We will be launching products very, very soon. And so, yeah, there's a lot of information up there already. If you're, you know, have some free moment, go check it out.
- [21:45]
Ella Cressman
And if you weren't able to write that down, maybe you're in the car, maybe you're in the treatment room. We won't say anything. We're going to put that in the show notes, so be sure to look there. But listeners, we really want to hear from you. What are your thoughts on career shifts, men's skincare, passionate ingredients, inspiration, all of that. Reach out via Instagram, Facebook or send us an email@getconnectedscpskincare.com we want to know all the details in the meantime, thank you for listening to ASCP STTalk. For more information on this episode, or for ways to connect with Will, Maggie or myself, or to learn more about ascp, check out the show notes and stay tuned for the next episode of ASCPSDtalk.
- [22:31]
Will Parker
Foreign.
- [22:34]
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