Five years after they first downed tools to follow their dream to create a skincare line for men, former Dubbo tradies Zac and Beau London are celebrating the success of their growing business.

The chippie, 30, and the plumber, 25, started their male skincare business with “just an idea” in 2020. They spent the next three years learning about the world of cosmetics, and getting experts on board to help them develop their products.

After launching “Frasé Skin” in 2023, the response has been so good they finally downed tools permanently and went full time in the business a year ago, Zac told the Dubbo Photo News.

At the time of our interview, Zac was hunkering down in his Gold Coast home, where he now lives, awaiting the arrival of slow-moving Cyclone Alfred and wondering what might come from it.

The long wait for the cyclone almost mirrors the brothers’ personal experience setting up Frasé Skin, wondering what the response might be to a male-developed, male-owned skincare range for men.

“I think this is why it took so long to start, because we were so scared of what people thought, and that we’d just get [expletive] put on us,” Zac admitted.

“That’s how the trade sites are, so we didn’t really tell anyone,” he added, indicating it was one of the reasons why they relocated away from Dubbo.

“To our surprise, we found a lot more support than we actually thought we’d have.”

The products currently available at Frasé Skin. More products are currently in development.

With over 35,000 followers on Instagram and more than 5000 on Facebook, the brothers have been surprised to find that women make up 50 per cent of their purchasers, buying products for their partners or family members.

“[An indication of] the feedback we've got from female buyers is: ‘they steal my own $100 moisturiser, and I'm sick of it,’” Zac laughed.

“[The blokes] may not buy it for themselves, but then they get it as a gift and they realise it's actually pretty good, and they keep using it.”

Although the business name has an accent on the letter ‘é’, which in French has an ‘ay’ sound, the accent is a design tool and the name is actually just pronounced “Fraze”. The brand was named in memory of Beau’s best mate, Sam Fraser, who died in an accident some time ago.

Products available from Frasé Skin include the “grub scrub”, which infuses charcoal, caviar lime, and blueberry extracts, an SPF50 sunscreen, and a daily cleanser and moisturiser. The business also stocks a range of accessories including a “shower drink holder” so users can enjoy a beer in the bathroom, “battler face buffer” for scrubbing faces, nail clipper set, and more.

One product the brothers have had to scrap from their line up, however, is face masks.

“We did have a mask and a lot of guys liked it, but they said it took too long and was too messy, so we replaced it with the scrub,” Zac said.

Zac and Beau are busy developing more innovative personal care products for men, and hope to one day be able to see their products on the shelf in supermarkets and chemists.

“That’s what we’re aiming for,” Zac concluded.