Dwayne Johnson Debuts Men’s Grooming Line Papatui: ‘Dude, Why Are We Whispering About Skincare?’ (Exclusive)

Wrestler. Actor. Director. Father. Sexiest Man Alive 2016 Fanny Pack Enthusiast. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson wears a lots of hat, so it’s no surprise that she’s joining the pantheon of celebrity skin care brands with her own line.

Meet Papatui, Johnson’s debut men’s personal care brand featuring skin, hair, body and tattoo care products made with cleaner ingredients and focused on performance. Even more exciting? Each product is under $10.

To hear Johnson tell it, Papatui, launched in Target stores and on Target.com on March 10 and now available on the brand’s website, was born out of conversations with colleagues at, where else, the gym!

“Over the years, I’ve found that as men we can have these great conversations about exercise, recovery, ice baths, saunas, and we can talk about trucks and cheat meals and tequila and our favorite movies, but any conversation I’d have about skin care, I’m privately always pushed aside, like, ‘Hey, can I ask you something? What do you do for your skin?'” he explains in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE.

In an effort to normalize men’s skin care, The Rock used his business savvy and charm to create a line that fell into the Mastiga bucket (affordability was key). “So many times I would say, ‘Dude, why are we whispering [about skincare]? It is OK. We should be able to have this open conversation.’ Papatui has allowed me to encourage a more open, larger conversation about skincare and skincare.”

Mark Seliger

Over three years, Johnson built a team and began “educating” himself about pure ingredients, fragrance profiles and more.

“I’m passionate about trying to do my best to take care of myself inside and out,” she tells PEOPLE. “Like many of us, I had a great curiosity; I’m always experimenting — how can I improve my skin care and grooming? And with that daily intention. Here I saw an opportunity to create a product of excellent quality, but also great affordability in terms of price. Let’s think about to the consumer and deliver quality at a very affordable price.”

Below, more from PEOPLE’s conversation with Johnson about his skincare debut, tips he got from Emily Blunt, and which sexiest man alive he wants to see use Papatui. (Try not to pass out.)

Papatui’s name and foundation are rooted in fatherhood

The fun part of creating a brand is that you have to come up with a name. There was so much repetition of names. I remember telling my team, “I’m getting ready to take the girls back to Hawaii. Let me go back there and let me sit in that aloha spirit I always talk about.” And something really cool happened from that. I am half black and half Samoan. On my Samoan side, my grandfather, even when I was a kid, was the first man to leave a mark on me in terms of [his appearance]. He always smelled wonderful, he was always well-groomed. He had beautiful skin. He was a big brute. He was a professional wrestler. He was my influence as a kid. Because of him, today I don’t go through a day without fragrant cologne. It doesn’t matter what I’m doing, where I’m going, I always smear myself with fragrant cologne. My grandfather gave me the nickname “Tui”. And I thought, “Okay, let’s start there. There’s something interesting there.” On my dad’s side, I’m a proud dad. I have three daughters, a house full of estrogen and my favorite role is being a dad. So dad. And then I started to realize that, “Oh my God, this is all coming together in a kismet way. Papa means “rock” in Samoan.

Women can also use these products

It is designed with men in mind, but every product is otherwise unisex. My wife [Lauren Hashian] uses it too!

Dwayne Johnson Instagram / Christopher Polk/Getty

Emily Blunt included it in toners

I worked with Emily Blunt, who is one of my best friends. And we talked about our morning and bedtime routines in terms of skin care. We were trading tips back and forth, and she said, “Hey, okay, what toner do you use?”

I said, “I don’t use toner.” She said, “What? You don’t use toner?” I said, “No.” I said, “Guys don’t use toner.”

She says, “I’m going to send you some toners that will change your life.”

I said, “Okay, I’ve heard that a million times. But okay.”

So she sent me toners, I tried them and realized, ‘Oh my God, this is a secret weapon in terms of evening out the complexion and shrinking pores!’ Our toner balances your skin’s pH — it’s become a secret weapon for me. I appreciate such feedback from Emily or family, friends – it was very helpful.

PAPATUI

The luxurious scent profile behind the line leans towards Le Lab’s Santal 33 (IYKYK)

I wanted to make sure that our three fragrances could measure up to some of the best fragrances in the world. I love great smelling cologne. I love and appreciate perfumes with an excellent smell. We have Coconut Lush which always takes me back to the islands of Hawaii. We also have Sandalwood Suede and Cedar Sport. We worked with the cult fragrance house Firmenich and collaborated with the famous perfume maker Frank Voelkl. When we started working on Papatui many years ago, we sat in a room and talked about scents. My partner said, “Do you have a favorite cologne?”

And I said, “I have 50 colognes at home and there’s one scent that I just smelled and I like it. It’s Santal 33.” And he shut up, and I thought: “Did I say something wrong?”

And then he said, “Well, that’s exactly who we’re going to. The man we hired who agreed to come and work with us to create the Papatui fragrance created Santal 33!”

PAPATUI

The soap packaging has a built-in smell tester

When I could go to drugstores before I became known for carrying a purse, I would go in and spend 30, even 45 minutes in those grooming sections and open every soap, every deodorant, because scents are so important to me. I used to get into trouble and was kicked out of these drugstores. So I thought, “Well, how can I take care of our boyfriends and girlfriends who want to know what our fragrance smells like?” So on the back of each bar there is a small hole in the packaging where you can smell them.

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Mark Seliger

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Papatui Tattoo Balm will not stick to your clothes

Over the years I’ve always looked for a great tattoo product that would protect and hydrate my tattoos, give them shine and shine when I go out, but also not stick to my clothes. I never found it. We ended up going back to basics with mango butter and cocoa butter and mixed them together for a tattoo balm and stick. I love every tattoo — they all tell a story. And I wanted a product within Papatui that would take care of that for our tattoo lovers out there.

It will stock the world’s sexiest men with some papatui

Let’s start with Chris Evans. I remember when he got it – we did something funny. And I’ll send it to all the SMA guys — they’ll all get Papatui because they all need it.

Rock wants to hear you

All in all, I encourage feedback and can’t wait to hear from everyone who uses it. We will learn from that, and that will inform us whether we need a new wording, a tweaked wording, what we need more of or less of. I can not wait

Papatui is available in Target stores and on Target.com starting Sunday, March 10th.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education