The butt care category is looking peachier every day. The latest entrant, two-month-old MyBum, has debuted with $29.99 Bum Balm, $14.99 Bum Daily Wipes and $28.99 Bum Suppositories.
Co-founder Summer Brock is no stranger to stigmatized categories. In addition to a three year stretch at The Good Patch, which makes sex and menopause products, Brock was director of sales at cannabis-infused sexual wellness specialist Foria. Brock, who suffers from irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, says the goals of MyBum are twofold. The first is serving affected consumer populations.
“A lot of pregnant women are at risk of hemorrhoids. That’s a major demographic, with postpartum,” she details. Formulating for pregnant and newly postpartum people, formulation safety was of the utmost importance to Brock. “We wanted to create effective body safe products that are natural because there’s a gap in the market for that in this category,” she says. Additionally, IBS disproportionately affects women, which is why Brock chose more “feminine” branding featuring soft purple and pink colors.
The other facet of MyBum’s mission is to help destigmatize anal issues like hemorrhoids and anal itching. “That’s something I’m super passionate about,” Brock says. “I think it’s so interesting that we are so embarrassed by these things, including myself, until now. I want to be educational. I want to be culturally relevant and not just this awkward taboo thing that’s in the back of your bathroom shelf. I want it to fall out of your purse and your friend might be like, ‘Wait, that’s kind of cute. What is that?’ Then you’re starting a conversation there.”
Brock says that Bum Balm is the brand’s hero SKU and the first product she started working on a year and a half ago. When it came to formula development, user experience was paramount. “I really love the balm. I love the viscosity of it, particularly for this area of your body,” she says. “A lot of [hemorrhoid] ointments were greasy, dripped down your leg, stain your underwear. It’s just not a good user experience.” Bum Balm, a shea butter based cream containing coconut, arnica, olive, peppermint, geranium, clove bud and tea tree oils can be applied externally to help soothe inflammation, discomfort and itching.
Suppositories were an important offering for MyBum because, Brock notes, if you have external hemorrhoids, “you probably have internal ones, too. I thought [the balm and the suppositories] could be a good one two punch, you’re targeting relief internally, and then also any irritation on the outside.”
Brock contends that suppositories are “having a moment” right now in wellness, and, especially in the case of vaginal suppositories, she’s not wrong. Her former employer, Foria, blazed the trail for vaginal suppositories to become a more accepted sexual health aid. More recently, brands like Enuf, Bonafide and Seed have all introduced suppositories to help alleviate period pain, support vaginal microbiome health and more.
She shares that some customers have reported success using MyBum’s suppositories as a lubricant during anal sex. “It’s body safe, so, we’re like, go for it,” she says, adding that the sex category is one MyBum “might lean into down the line, but not yet.” She notes that even though the general population maybe nervous about trying suppositories, her customers that buy MyBum’s suppositories often repeat purchase them.
While there are already many intimate wipe options already on the market, Brock saw them as a necessary cleansing and cooling tool for MyBum’s consumers. Bum Daily Wipes are formulated with witch hazel, a natural ingredient proven to provide relief from hemorrhoid pain and discomfort. Brock says, “A lot of people look for that ingredient when they’re looking for products for this, so we wanted to have that as a staple.”
The next launches in MyBum’s product pipeline will be additional wipe products, including travel wipes, cooling wipes, and anti-itch wipes. Brock sees a lot of potential for the travel wipes especially. “We plan to put them in maternity wards for postpartum care, and then even beauty boxes like Fab, Fit, Fun,” she shares. “That’s where we’re trying to go with these because we want to sit beside your beauty products. It’s part of the de-stigmatizing.”
“We want to sit beside your beauty products. It’s part of the de-stigmatizing.”
Brock and her co-founder, former P&G exec Stephen La Barbera, have bootstrapped MyBum so far, pouring about $140,000 into the venture. The pair are currently in the process of raising a pre-seed round with a goal of $600,000.
MyBum has already scored some retail distribution. The brand is sold on pregnancy and new mom-focused online shop Sorette, social commerce app Flip, sustainable product marketplace Flora and 10 independent California pharmacies as part of a test program through MyBum’s distributor, with the possibility of expansion depending on sales. Brock teases that there are some major retail partnerships in the works that are yet to be announced.
MyBum will also go live on Amazon and TikTok Shop in the next two to three months. Brock says, “We’re going to start seeding TikTok content creators, like a hundred a month, to get some real content, different user experiences and use that to get the word out.”
The butt care universe has steadily expanded since Beauty Independent first reported on the rise of butt beauty in 2018. Beyond brands like Bawdy, Truly, Maelys and, of course, Sol de Janiero normalizing cheek care, more daring brands have loudly and proudly introduced targeted products that tackle the full spectrum of butt wellness concerns.
No discussion of ass care is complete without mentioning Future Method, the sexual wellness and intimate care brand launched by Manhattan plastic surgeon Evan Goldstein. Goldstein added author to his titles this spring with the launch of his book Butt Seriously: The Definitive Guide to Anal Health. Earlier this year, Asset launched with its calming, hydrating and brightening $56 Hole Serum. In June, Luna Daily’s Motherhood Collection, including its $32 Perineal Prep Oil and $14 Post-Birth Soothing Spray, also for the perineum, launched on Sephora’s website, showing specialty retailers’ appetite for ass-adjacent skincare.
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