Ebb Ocean Club came out of a breakup.
Khalyla Kuhn is known for her two podcasts: TigerBelly, which she hosts with her ex-boyfriend, comedian Bobby Lee, and Trash Tuesday, co-hosted with comedian Esther Povitsky. She was going through a breakup with Lee when she found herself retreating to the ocean. Kuhn said she’s always loved the water, having grown up as a swimmer in the Philippines.
“It was very healing,” she said, regarding her post-breakup ocean habit. But she noted the downside: It left her hair tangled and unmanageable. And, after looking for products that were reef-safe and would also nourish her skin, hair and body as she exposed it to salt water for hours at a time, she came up short.
At the time, she was using a face oil by the indie skin-care brand Circumference and had become friendly with the husband-and-wife founders Jina Kim and Chris Young. She reached out to them asking if she could use their factories to make a small batch of the hair product she was envisioning in their factories — they obliged. She originally wanted the product for herself. But, as each batch of lab samples came back and Kuhn, Kim and Young shared it with friends asking for feedback, they realized the demand. Simultaneously, Circumference was attempting to regroup after being hit hard by the pandemic — it’s currently on pause. The founders saw the opportunity to refocus on a new venture, and Kuhn, Kim and Young decided to go in as co-founders. They also co-own the business.
“Khalyla was an accidental beauty founder,” said Becca Erdman, head of brand at Ebb and former head of communications and partnerships at Circumference.
“I was always very careful about what I put on my face and my skin [with regard to reef safety] before I jumped in the water and I wasn’t doing that with my hair,” said Kuhn, noting the inspiration for Ebb Ocean Club. “[Creating the brand] has been a labor of love. It wasn’t easy to come up with something that is so de-tangling but without the silicones, petrochemicals and PEGs. But we finally landed on formulas we’re super proud of.”
Ebb launched on May 15 with a shampoo, a conditioner, a detangling spray and a reparative mask, each sold direct-to-consumer for $21-$26. It aims to set a standard in “reef-safe hair care.” The products feature a proprietary Marine BioRepair Complex, inclusive of seaweed extract, algae extract and sea moss, to aid in strand separation and hair health without silicones and other harmful ingredients.
To kick off the launch, Ebb is hosting a variety show for around 350 people in Los Angeles featuring Kuhn’s podcast co-hosts and other comedians. TigerBelly has has over 14,000 reviews with an average of 4.8 stars on Apple Podcasts, Trash Tuesday, Kuhn’s newer podcast, has nearly 2,000 reviews averaging 4.4 stars.
Half of the audience will be VIPs and friends of the brand, while the other half purchased tickets for $38. Guests who purchased tickets will take home one full-size product as well as a mini of its Detangling Tonic Spray, while VIPs will take home the brand’s full collection. The brand already has over 27,000 followers on Instagram. Kuhn has 351,000.
As for continuing to market the brand, Kuhn spoke to the unique opportunity she has as a podcaster. “My advantage is that I have [the listener’s] ear 1-4 hours a week — and we don’t miss a week, we don’t miss the holidays. And I’ve been doing this for a very long time,” she said. “It’s easy for me to talk about my product at the beginning of each show, for one to two minutes of each episode.”
