David Gaylord on Leading Bushbalm From Side Hustle to 30,000 Salons

By Cheryl Gushue

Bushbalm built its professional wax brand starting with $952 through a Shopify “Build a Business” competition, and ten years of steady, bootstrapped growth. Co-founder and CEO David Gaylord grew the company from $2,500 in year-one revenue to $1.8 million by year five, and today Bushbalm counts roughly 30,000 independent waxing salons among its professional accounts.

From $952 to a Multi-Million Dollar Wax Brand

Gaylord co-founded Bushbalm in 2016 in Ottawa. The first three to four years brought almost no revenue, but they taught him how to run a business. Even before Bushbalm had more than a couple of employees, Gaylord built out formal monthly business reviews and structured departments in Google Drive, including legal and accounting, well before the company needed them. That discipline paid off. Revenue moved from $2,500 in year one to $150,000 in year four, then jumped to $1.8 million in year five—the same year Gaylord was still working full-time at Shopify and running Bushbalm nights and weekends. Ten years later, the company has just passed 80 employees and has doubled its headcount in 2026 alone.

Where Did the Name Bushbalm Come From?

Bushbalm was originally an idea from co-founders Tim and Mel, sparked after Mel experienced razor burn on her honeymoon. Gaylord joined later—by his own description, as the “third wheel”—recruited for his marketing background rather than a personal passion for beauty. The brand has never actually launched a bath balm. Balm chemistry proved far more difficult than an oil-based formula, so the company launched with oil instead and kept the name. Some early retail partners hesitated over the packaging, but the name has since become part of the brand’s identity, especially with estheticians who, as Gaylord says, “love the name” because it reflects their own personality.

Why Is the Professional Channel Bushbalm’s Biggest Growth Driver?

Bushbalm started direct-to-consumer on Shopify, added Amazon around year five, and later landed 800 doors at Ulta Beauty. Its professional channel grew more organically, through Instagram DMs from estheticians asking if Bushbalm offered a back-bar option. That channel is now Bushbalm’s largest, generating over 50% of total revenue and growing faster than any other. Roughly 30,000 independent waxing salons actively carry the brand, and Gaylord expects the professional channel to reach about 75% of total business long-term. Between 500 and 800 new professionals join the Bushbalm Pro program each year, many of them leaving chains such as European Wax Center to open independent studios.

Inside Bushbalm’s Ulta Beauty Retail Success

Bushbalm’s 800-door Ulta Beauty launch worked largely because of placement. The brand landed in the hair removal aisle as essentially the only skincare product mixed in with razors and shaving creams, which drove strong sell-through from day one. Gaylord admits the timing was risky; Bushbalm had little capital to invest that first year since the business was reinvesting its own growth revenue. The placement, price, and product line carried the brand well in-store. Bushbalm recently hired its first CMO, Michelle Snyder, whose background includes Image Skincare, Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare, and SkinCeuticals, to lead a bigger retail investment moving forward.

What Makes Bushbalm’s Wax Formulas Different?

Bushbalm currently sells two wax formats. Bushbeads, a hard wax launched two years ago, is built for lower-pain areas like the bikini line, underarms, and upper lip. Bushbutter, a newer soft wax, is designed for larger flat areas like the back and legs. An early clinical trial found Bushbalm’s wax broke the skin barrier less than comparable products during Brazilian and underarm waxing, and that redness calmed faster afterward. Gaylord’s longer-term goal is zero-recovery-time waxing. He points to Bushbalm’s Vajacial Mask, a hydro-jelly formula, as an early step in that direction, saying it cut his own chest-waxing recovery from about five days of visible redness to roughly 24 hours.

Where Is Bushbalm Manufactured?

Almost all of Bushbalm’s liquid formulas are made in Canada. The wax is produced in Italy, and the Vajacial Mask hydro-jelly is made in Korea, with each product matched to the region best equipped to manufacture it.

What’s Next for Bushbalm in 2027?

New CMO Michelle Snyder is leading a consumer brand research project with outside agencies, aimed at raising brand awareness that Gaylord describes as currently low outside the waxing niche. Bushbalm plans a pro-exclusive product launch later in the year, along with continued quarterly limited-edition scents for the professional channel; a strategy that started with Watermelon Sugar before it became a permanent offering. The company is also hiring its first master educator, an in-house lead esthetician role based out of the Ottawa office.

Bushbalm’s second annual Pro Summit takes place in Toronto in early October, built Apple keynote-style with a product roadmap reveal, live education, and networking for professionals. At the summit, Bushbalm will announce final results from its partnership with the Breast Cancer Research Foundation through its Pink Wax, which set out to raise $100,000 and has already exceeded that goal.

ABOUT:

David Gaylord is the CEO and Co-Founder of Bushbalm, the Ottawa-based skincare brand built on a simple mission: boosting confidence. What started as a honeymoon-inspired fix for razor burn has grown into a brand on a mission to break down taboos around clean, effective skincare — bikini line, underarms, and everywhere else. Today, Bushbalm’s products reach 30,000+ retail doors worldwide, with a fast-growing Professional channel bringing that same mission to estheticians and wax salons across North America.