Andrea Faulkner Williams on gentle care for sensitive family skin

We created Tubby Todd as a solution to our own family struggles with sensitive skin. The sentence is plain, and that plainness tells you most of what you need to know about this brand.

Look where you want to go. Andrea Faulkner Williams names that as her favorite quote, and she seems to have used it literally. When she and her husband Brian started Tubby Todd in San Diego in 2014, they were not looking at retail shelves. They were looking at their own bathroom.

They had wanted a family business for years and had tried other ideas before children. Brian worked in sales and marketing at a formulation facility, where he watched how products were actually made. One evening on the drive home he called Andrea and said they would make their own line of childrens bath products. The name came quickly. The work did not.

What followed was two years of formulating, testing and reformulating with professional formulators. During that time their second child was born with pretty bad eczema. The question shifted from how to make a natural wash that smelled good and lathered well to how to make basics that would hold up on dry, irritated skin. When the family started using the first hair and body wash on their son Walker, his skin completely cleared up. Mommy bloggers noticed, parents wrote in, and a community grew around the bathtub.

What we noticed, reading slowly through the sources, is how plant-led this story is without ever sounding botanical for effect. Jojoba esters for slip, camellia leaf extract for calm, colloidal oatmeal at one percent for comfort. The formulas are simple on purpose. The ritual is nightly and unhurried. Wash gently, moisturize daily, seal where needed. That is the whole thesis, repeated across a decade.

It all started with a body wash that soothes and hydrates skin without stripping moisture or causing irritation. That line from the About page could read as marketing, but in the longer interviews it reads as method. What did you leave out, what did you keep in, and would you use it at home on your own four children.

That wash was really the beginning. We knew we wanted to use clean, natural ingredients, but were so sick of working with products that did not smell great. A lot of what we found in stores felt watery or ineffective. It lathered a little and then left skin tight and dry, which is the opposite of what you want for a small child.

Brian had seen the inside of manufacturing, how brands choose bases and fragrances and price points. We thought we could do it differently. Because we have four little ones, we only create products that we would want to use in our own homes. That became the rule. If we would not use it nightly, with our own kids, we would not make it.

Our first product was a hair and body wash that we launched in 2014. It took two years. We worked with formulators, we tested, we reformulated. We wanted something pure and hypoallergenic, with natural extracts and plant-based ingredients, that really lathered. Lather mattered because bathtime has to feel good. Gentle mattered more, because skin has to feel good after.

Your second child was born with pretty bad eczema while you were still formulating, and your son Walker skin clearing after you used the wash at home is now part of the brand history, how did that change the brief from pleasant natural products to something that had to work on irritated skin.

It changed everything. In the beginning we wanted natural products that smelled good and worked for a normal bath. Then we had a baby whose skin was dry and irritated almost constantly. Pleasant was not enough. Pleasant does not help at two in the morning when a child is uncomfortable.

We spent that time learning what soothes without stripping. A wash has to clean hair and skin with one to two pumps, then rinse away without leaving that squeaky feeling. That feeling means you took too much with you. For our family, the shift was to think in steps. Cleanse softly, then soften and moisturize daily, then protect the driest areas with something richer.

That is why they are great for anyone prone to sensitivities, especially eczema. We made body care basics for little ones and mamas, too. Adults with sensitivities use the same jars. The skin on a newborn cheek and the skin on a mama hand in winter are not so different. Both lose moisture fast. Both want something simple that stays.

You say you spent two years working with professional formulators before the 2014 launch, what were you asking for that took so long, and what did you learn about plant-based ingredients that lather without drying.

We were asking for two things that do not always go together. We wanted plant-based cleansing that foamed like a real bath product, and we wanted it to leave moisture behind. Most of what we tried did one or the other. It either felt rich but did not lather, or it lathered and left skin dry.

So we iterated. We would test a base, live with it, bathe with it, then go back. We looked at natural extracts that support softness rather than cover it up with heavy scent. Lavender and rosemary gave us a fresh herbal note that parents liked, and later we kept a fragrance free version for the most sensitive households. That choice came from listening. Some families love scent in the bath. Some cannot use it at all.

The lesson was patience. A formula that looks fine in the lab can feel different in a small tub with warm water and a wiggly toddler. We kept going until the wash soothed and hydrated without stripping moisture or causing irritation. That sentence stayed on our site because it was the test we used at home.

You often say you would rather use whatever the best ingredients are than dilute a formula to hit a shelf price, where did that rule come from and how does it show up in the All Over Ointment with jojoba esters, camellia leaf extract and one percent colloidal oatmeal.

It came from watching how pricing drives decisions. It is easy to thin a formula to meet a number. We did not want to do that. We would rather explain a price honestly than quietly make something weaker. Parents can feel the difference in a balm. Either it holds moisture or it does not.

Our All Over Ointment is a good example. People call it a balm for everything, and we love that name because it describes how families actually use it. It is rich and creamy, made from plant-based ingredients like jojoba esters and camellia leaf extract to moisturize skin. Jojoba esters give that smooth, protective slip without feeling waxy. Camellia leaf brings a soft, leafy calm that works well under occlusion.

The updated eczema relief version adds one percent colloidal oatmeal. We use it to help soothe irritation caused by eczema and other sensitivities. You apply it to dry, irritated or eczema prone areas as an all over balm. In practice that means after the bath, on slightly damp skin, pressed in slowly. Then again in the morning on elbows, knees, cheeks, wherever dryness gathers.

Because we have four little ones, we only create products that we would want to use in our own homes.

Andrea Faulkner Williams

The brand promise centers on a three step rhythm of wash, everyday lotion and ointment, can you walk through how you use those three at home, including amounts, order and the places parents tend to miss.

We think of it as Good Clean Fun, but the order is steady. Start with the Hair and Body Wash. Lather one to two pumps in your hands to gently clean hair and skin. You do not need a big pouf of foam. Warm water, quick wash, rinse well. The goal is clean that still feels soft.

Then, while skin is still a little damp, use the Everyday Lotion to soften and moisturize sensitive skin. It is packed with natural extracts and plant-based ingredients, and it comes in lavender and rosemary and fragrance free. Use daily, head to toe. Parents often miss behind the ears, the creases of the neck, and the backs of the arms. Those are places where dryness starts.

Then seal where needed with the ointment. Apply to dry, irritated or eczema prone areas. For some children that is cheeks in winter. For others it is the folds at elbows and knees. A thin layer is enough, warmed between your palms first so it spreads easily. At night we do the full three steps. In the morning we often do lotion plus a touch of balm.

You built the early business without money for retail by making a Shopify site yourselves and sending product to mommy bloggers, what did those first parents teach you that paid ads could not.

They taught us what language to use. We did not have money for shelves, so we sent wash to bloggers and waited. When Walker skin cleared, people talked about it online in their own words. They described bathtime, sleep, scratching, softness. That detail made us better.

We have a belief that we would rather do no paid ads than rely on the algorithm to boost growth. That sounds stubborn, but it kept us close to the Tubby Todd Mamas group and to comments and messages. By 2024 that community included a large Instagram following and a private group of about twenty thousand parents. You learn quickly what helps when twenty thousand people tell you how they use a tube at midnight.

We also decided we would not share content we would not want to read, use or watch. If it would not help a friend, we do not post it. Do not create anything you would not send to a friend. That phrase sounds simple. It edits a lot.

Lavender and rosemary runs through the wash, lotion and bubble bath, while the ointment and diaper paste stay fragrance free, how do you decide which formulas carry scent and which need to stay quiet.

We decide by use and by place. A wash or a bubble bath is a whole body, short contact ritual. Scent there can make the bath feel happy, and then it rinses away. Lavender brings a soft herbal calm. Rosemary lifts it so it does not feel sleepy or powdery. Honeysuckle and grapefruit do a similar job in the bubble bath, fresh but not sharp.

A leave on balm is different. The All Over Ointment sits on skin for hours, often on cheeks or cracked patches. Fragrance free makes sense there. The same is true for the Sweet Cheeks Diaper Paste, which uses fourteen percent zinc oxide to help treat and prevent diaper rash by sealing out wetness. That area is already sensitive. We keep it plain.

We also keep fragrance free versions of the wash and lotion. Some homes need unscented everything. Some homes want the ritual of scent at night and quiet in the morning. We try to give both without changing the base gentleness.

In January 2026 you entered Target nationwide and became a leading baby skincare brand across those stores, how did you keep the formulas and the family tone intact while moving from direct community to a national shelf.

We kept the same rule. Use the best ingredients, do not dilute to hit a shelf price. Target gave us reach, but the products had to feel the same in a store in another state as they did from our site. The wash still needed to lather with one to two pumps. The ointment still needed to feel rich from jojoba esters.

The tone had to stay too. I am Andrea Faulkner Williams, and I am so happy to welcome you to the TT fam. That is how we greet people on our About page. It is warm because we mean it. We make the best selling skincare products for little ones and grown ups too. That line is not about rank. It is about who uses the jar. A dad with dry hands, a grandparent, a toddler.

We also stayed family run in San Diego, at the place we call the Tubhub. I interview every hire. That sounds small, but it protects the voice. If you know you know. You have got this. Those are not slogans to us. They are how we talk to a tired parent.

You are a mother of four leading a team with your husband Brian, what does a calm botanical routine look like on a real evening, from water temperature to the last press of balm.

It looks ordinary, which I love. Lukewarm water, not hot. A short soak. Wash with one to two pumps, hair first then body, so the water stays cleaner longer. Rinse fully. Lift them out and pat, do not rub. Skin should look soft, not pink.

Then lotion right away. We keep the pump nearby so there is no pause. Smooth it over legs, belly, arms, face if the formula allows and the child likes it. Then ointment on the dry spots. A little on cheeks in cold months. A little on hands. Press, do not drag. That pressing motion matters. It settles the balm without friction.

If there is cradle cap or tangles or a rashy day, we treat that separately and simply. But most nights are just those three steps. Steep the day down. Infuse a little calm. Let the field of the day rest. The plants do their quiet work while sleep does the rest.

You close many notes with encouragement like you have got this and if you know you know, what would you say to a parent starting a business while raising small children, starting from your own line that if you have an idea do not wait for anyone else to do it.

I would say if you have an idea or feel passionate about starting a business, do not wait for anyone else to do it. We did not have funding or retail. We had a kitchen table question and a formulation lab willing to iterate with us. We built the site ourselves. We mailed boxes ourselves.

Look where you want to go. That quote guides me. Pick the direction, then take the next small step. For us that meant one good wash in 2014, then lotion, then ointment. It meant listening more than talking. It meant treating customers like a best friend rather than talking about the brand itself.

And keep your standard at home level. We only create products that we would want to use in our own homes. If it is not good enough for your own sink or tub, it is not ready. That test has never failed us.

Closing note from the desk

What stays after this conversation is the steadiness of the method. Wash softly, moisturize daily, seal where the skin asks for more. The plants are not decoration here. Oatmeal to comfort, jojoba to hold moisture, camellia to soften, lavender and rosemary to mark the evening. Each has a job in the ritual.

Tubby Todd set out to make body care basics for little ones and mamas too, without stripping moisture or causing irritation. A decade on, that still reads clearly on the shelf and in the tub. It is a family business that grew the way families grow, one night at a time.

Product spotlight

All Over Ointment Eczema Relief, 36 dollars for 8 oz fragrance free, also in 3.5 oz for 22 dollars and tube formats. A rich plant-based balm with jojoba esters, camellia leaf extract and one percent colloidal oatmeal to help soothe the appearance of irritation from eczema. Apply to dry or eczema prone areas after bathing, warmed between palms and pressed in.

Hair + Body Wash, 40 dollars for 25 oz in Lavender and Rosemary, also in 8.5 oz for 17 dollars, 2 oz for 13 dollars and refill sizes. A pure hypoallergenic wash with natural extracts and plant-based ingredients that lathers well yet rinses clean. Lather 1 to 2 pumps in hands to gently clean hair and skin, then follow with lotion while skin is damp.