We recently connected with Monifa and David Coaxum and have shared our conversation below.

Monifa and David , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

We love to share the story of Dave’s Body Butter. It all started when our daughter Rayna was a toddler and began experiencing skin dry patches. We tried everything from over-the-counter moisturizers to seeing a pediatric dermatologist, but nothing seemed to work to address the skin problem. That’s when Dave, the founder of Dave’s Body Butter, had an epiphany: the moisturizers we were using contained harmful chemicals although the marketing and promotion said the opposite. We wanted to create something natural, authentic, and completely free of preservatives, parabens, and chemicals, but still soft and silky on the skin. And you know what? It worked! Rayna’s skin cleared up almost immediately after using our body butter, and we’ve been using it exclusively ever since. Over time, we have perfected it and many pushed us to make it more available to everyone. Whether you are on a holistic journey, or simply realize the importance of being mindful of what you use on your skin, we believe Dave’s Body Butter is for you.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

We are David and Monifa, both attorneys by trade. We came into the industry really by accident. We did not create the body butter to start a business. We created it initially for use on our skin, disappointed in what we saw as tricky marketing to use products that, though touted as healthy, was very harmful to our skin and that of our children.

While we do not claim it is a medicinal product, many have shared with us how our products reduce inflamation and irritation. We believe it is becuase we only use certified core ingredients in our body butters and hair oils. We are proud of the authenticity we bring in using natural oils and butters that are certified and organic, and that we don’t compromise to bring clean products to our customers. When you read our label, you can pronounce and read all of the ingredients, and, more importantly, trust that what you are putting on your skin is healthy and clean. as the largest organ on the body, the skin breathes and takes in all that we put on it. If you are on a holistic journey, be mindful of what you put on your skin, just as you are mindful about the foods you eat.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Well, David is the creator of our product. I want to say in 2014 or 2015 was the year he had enough of purchasing products for our daughter’s skin. She had exzema that was unresponsive to the lotions and treatments that were recommended by doctors for treatment of her skin. One of the products we used as a family, that was also a product that was supposed to deal with skin conditions like exzema was available to purchase at Costco. Since we used so much of it on her skin, we would often purchase two containers. The containers would last for two months at a time. So we opened a container that had been sitting for maybe two months, but had a shelf life for over a year, and it had mold throughout. It had never been opened and was kept at room temperature. My husband immeditately researched the ingredients and realized that many of the ingredients were not ones that he would ever want to put on our skin, let alone our daughter’s. So he began researching ways to create a natural body butter that we could use for our skin and our daughter’s. His initial trial created a concotion that was a bit of a mess. It was grainy and not smooth and for various reasons could not maintain its form. But since we didn’t trust any other oils or treatments, we strived to perfect it, and have succeeded in doing so.

Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.

We do make our own product. The key is consistency. Driven by a strong desire to purify our skin and body, we are very careful not to contaminate our product.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.davesbodybutter.com
• Instagram: daves_body_butter
• Facebook: davesbodybutter