Sometimes, the best ideas come from unexpected places. On this 160th episode of the E-Comm Show, Andrew Maff interviews Diane Sashen, Managing Director of Steven Plastics Inc and Global Brand Manager of Hair Doctor products. Diane never expected to run a hair care product company, but by leaning into customer testimonials, she discovered an opportunity that matched her passion for helping people.

In this episode, Diane emphasizes the importance of listening to customers and understanding their needs to create a successful product. But how do you ensure your customers are engaged and receptive? We explore this question and discuss the impact of influencer marketing, highlighting why it's crucial to build strong relationships with your core group of customers.

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Maximizing Your Online and Offline Presence with Norm Farrar Opportunities: The Power of Listening to Your Customers with Hair Doctor

Andrew Maff and Diane Pietrasik

CONNECT WITH OUR HOST: AndrewMaff.com  |  Twitter: @AndrewMaff | LinkedIn: @AndrewMaff 

Diane Pietrasik

Diane Pietrasik is Managing Director Steven Plastics Inc and Global Brand Manager of its proprietary Consumer Product Lines; Hair Doctor and TheUntangler. And the backstory is fascinating; After 40+years of success in Corporate Sales and Consulting; she wanted to goof off, but her husband had other ideas. In 2015, he purchased a privately held Plastic Injection Molding Company and she went along kicking and screaming. Before the purchase she toured the 35,000 square foot facility, which was filled with large noisey presses pumping out precision plastic parts for aerospace, automotive, medical and consumer products. It was a foreign land and language. And so her journey into manufacturing began. Months went by before she truly became aware that Steven Plastics was the inventor of The original tooth comb which spawned 2 remarkable products lines, Hair Doctor Rotating Tooth combs and Untangler Rotating tooth Pet Grooming Tools

• From reluctance to intrigue - She learned that the Original Hair Doctor Rotating Tooth Comb was invented in the late 90’s by a Steven Plastics engineer, who was tasked to develop a unique Comb product for Revlon. The details are sketchy, but Steven Plastics retained the rights to the invention and ultimately patented the unique honeycomb spine. Technically the comb spine enabled each pin to rotate and move. This pin action significantly reduces the pulling force on hair resulting in less hair damage and loss. Especially when hair is wet. But Diana’s passion didn’t ignite until she found an old box of fan mail containing hundreds of customer letters praising the remarkable results they were experiencing. She immediately pulled old customer lists, learned each phase of the manufacturing process, fired the manager and took over running the business.

• From intrigue to purpose - She listed Hair Doctor products on Amazon, built a new website, listed on RangeME and spoke with hundreds of retailers to convey the benefits of Hair Doctor Rotating Tooth Combs. As a result, she began to receive email from long time customers saying that they used Hair Doctor combs since childhood and were thrilled to know that the original rotating tooth combs were available today and made by the original manufacturer. Surprising reinforcement regarding the effectiveness of rotating teeth came in from numerous Trichologists, including the renown Dr. David Kingsly, Hair Loss specialist in Long Island, NY. (she honestly, had to look up the definition of Trichologist)

• The rest of the story - The rest of the Hair Doctor story hasn’t been written yet, because it hasn’t been lived. Hair Doctor is growing 25-30% annually, And, will continue to grow and deliver value to all people…..as Diane says and quotes: “with a little help from my friends” . Her Mission? To inspire people throughout the USA to learn about rotating tooth combs and enable them experience how rotating tooth combs could potentially provide excellent results in reducing everyday hair damage. A small action one can take every day to reduce hair stress and keep their hair healthier. Comb your Hair with Kindness ! Hair Doctor Rotating Tooth Combs and Brushes…for healthier hair.

Aside: Hair Doctor Rotating Tooth Combs became a Best Seller in the Philippines in the early 2000’s and remains a top selling Brand in that Country today. Rotating tooth technology was applied to Pet Grooming Tools in 2004 under the Brand Name Untangler. Today, the Untangler BRAND is becoming recognized as an effective tools for all those who seek new and improved ways effective and humanely groom Canines and Felines!

00:03

People want the original. People want the first. But word of mouth really is my best method,

01:03

Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of The E-Comm Show. I am your host, as usual, Andrew Maff, and today I am joined by the amazing Diane Pietrasik, who is the managing director as well as the Global Brand Manager at Stephen Plastics as well as Hair Doctor Products. Diane, how you ready? You ready for a good show? Ready to do this? So Andrew, standing by, ready? That's great. Very excited to have you on the show. It's a very interesting, very interesting background, very interesting brand. There's a ton of story around it. It's, I know it's been around for years. I don't want to be the one to obviously tell the story. That's why we have you on the show today. So I would love to do the usual, and kind of give you the opportunity to hear, let us know, you know, kind of where you got started. And obviously, tell us a little bit more about hair doctor. Well, I love to do it. And I guess the best way to kick her, kick her off, is to say the reluctant entrepreneur,

01:59

years years and years in business and sales for Xerox and every other major corporation. And I really wanted to kick back, relax, do something interesting. However, my husband had grandiose ideas, very forward thinking, and in 2015 he purchases a manufacturing company. He tells me he's going to do this. And I said, Sure, why not?

02:33

So as I entered the company, I'm I'm looking, it's like going into a foreign land. There are machines pumping out parts and aerospace metals in plastic,

02:49

screws and bolts. And I'm fascinated, but I'm dumbfounded. I mean, clearly, I've watched how it's made many times, but I've never actually been to a factoring scene at time. But the more interesting part of the story is, when he bought the company, I had no idea that Steven plastics was the actual inventor of a product, the original rotating tooth comb, and it took me months, and I discovered there were two brands, the hair Doctor brand and the entangler brand. Hair doctor for human hair and untangler for fats. And I still didn't think anything of it, but what I discovered is the inventor

03:40

worked at Steven plastics 25 years ago, and the contract he had was with Revlon. And I really don't know how the story got started, but I believe he had to invent an item for their kickoff meeting in January, believe it or not, 20 years ago, and he invented a rotating tooth comb for Revlon. And the reason the comb was really pretty cool is rotating teeth significantly reduce the pulling force on hair. So when you're cutting your hair, when it's wet, your hair naturally stretches, and you can stretch pretty long, however, color treated hair or fragile hair, or thinning hair or aging hair, people really benefit, and I had no idea. So eventually, Revlon never picked up the line, but the inventor got her patent, worked at Steven plastics. We began to produce it. So when, when I looked at the line, I really didn't think much of it. I said, Oh, it's a column. How great. And then I went through some old boxes, and I started reading fan mail.

05:00

And people loved it, and the fan mail set it out, and the fan mail said I've been using it for 20 years, and the fan mail said really, really works. So that's when I started doing my homework. That's when I got inspired. I tried the comb myself. Finally, it took me a while, but I tried the comb myself, and I was hooked. The more I explored, the better it got, and I did a lot of things. First, I started a new website, I launched it on Amazon, I started talking to all our customers. I found out that hair Doctor rotating tooth combs is one of the biggest brands in the country of the Philippines, of all places, really. So that's what I said. So I started talking to the distributor and a lot of the users, and a lot of the users who now live in the US, approximately 4.6 million Filipinos are so excited to find that hair doctor still exists. So my mission is really to inspire people to take a look and enable them to test the product. I mean, the product really is pretty cool, and the pins actually create a result. It's a very affordable, low cost way to really do something good for yourself. And again, you make progress in inches. It's really, really helpful. And so I'm on a mission. I really am. And we added colors and we added designs that we added styles, and we added the mini comb, and

06:54

on and on and on. So

06:58

it's

07:00

sorry to talk to people, and I want it to grow, but it's not really known in the USA. That was actually gonna be one of my questions. What makes it so prevalent in the Philippines and it not picking up in the States? You know, I don't so, so why not?

07:20

But it is catching fire when people see it, they people discover it. They love it, you know, on your belt curve, but people most really want to use it. I get comments every day on Amazon and my own website where people tell me exactly why it works for thick hair. It really entangles with a lot, not a lot of pulling. I'm losing less hair in the sink, they say. And even guys, they say, it's small, it's convenient. It's, you know, a decent pole. It gets through the thick hair, or my finger.

08:02

You know, it's a small little thing.

08:06

And why would there be so much excitement? I'm such a small little thing. There are millions of competitors out there. Hair Doctor really is the only home in the world with the collection of rotating teeth. Yeah, it's very interesting. You know, it's one of those. It's one of those things where, like, it's a the comb itself is a product that has been around for, I don't even know. Probably, I think caveman had combs, but, like, no one ever really thought like, hey, maybe there's something here that can actually be improved. And you happen to stumble across it after basically becoming an owner in a manufacturing facility, which is fantastic, and so obviously, now I assume you guys own the complete contract for it. You own the patent behind it. It's 100% yours now, correct? Or is the old inventor involved at all? Well, no, the old Well, the old inventor actually retired. And part of the reason Revlon as a story goes, part of the reason Revlon was so interested is the inventor tells the story he used to hear his daughter cry out every time his wife combed her hair. And he said, What's to deal with the comb? So we started to pull apart, and he started to look at it, and he noticed how the static pins would actually abruptly pull harder on the base of the hair follicle. And he really was an inventor, and really, you know, created what they call the honeycomb spine. So the honeycomb spine is really the secret. So each pin within the spine.

10:00

Line rotates independently, so you're not getting a consistent pull. The comb will move and jive and wide, and when it hits and a knot, it'll work around it, or it'll, you know, stop moving where you can actually untangle it. So anyway, no, he's no longer with the company,

10:22

but he offers advice every so often. He currently lives in Hawaii, of all places, and retirement

10:33

currently says hello on occasion, nice. So the you'd mentioned obviously that you know, this was years and years ago that this had happened. So what was it? How was it originally brought to market? How? How did he even manage to get it picked up in the Philippines, originally, before you took it over? No, the I truly wish I knew the answer to that. It's vague. Just

10:59

happened.

11:02

I I just can't put the pieces together. Yeah, I don't believe he's one that made the introduction.

11:11

I wish I knew. But our partner in the Philippines, LaRoche accessories, has been selling the comb for 25 years, and it is very well established brand. As a matter of fact, some of the funniest comments on hair doctor are from my Filipino

11:31

brand users who say their mothers say, Where's my hair doctor? I mean, they just, they just call it by name, so it looks like Kleenex.

11:43

That's great. What's your, what's your current plan with the business? Like, obviously, are you still trying to, kind of get it to pick up more in the States? You mentioned? Obviously, you have your own website, which I've seen. You've got it on Amazon. What's, what's the plan with the business going forward? Well, the plan is, really, I think, a three pronged approach. One, talking to you on podcast. Two,

12:09

talking to people, inspiring them, maybe working with an influencer, really working on

12:19

Google ads for certain times the market. Christmas stocking stuffers. Great idea. Valentine's cool unique gifts, the pink mini comb and the red mini combs. The hottest gift for Valentine's Day, Saint Patrick's Day, our green, uh combs come out in in emerald green. And I mean, you're around, it's easy to carry. You have pocket sizes. You have extra long we even have two or three

12:55

larger combs for the professional. So many salons currently carry the comb, which is pretty fantastic.

13:05

And then I realized we're really focusing on the hair side of the business, but rotating tooth technology was also applied to pet combs. So in 2004

13:20

we introduced the rotating tooth for the pet comb. And really popular, very humane as a matter of fact, if pets could speak, they would be the ones endorsing the COVID.

13:35

They really notice the difference, especially when they're being groomed. How has the pet side of the business been doing in our distributors? We do have UK, Europe, Australia, so on that side of the business, doing pretty well, I think, a little bit stronger than hair doctor. But I do believe the hair Doctor brand has a little less competition.

14:05

There are some,

14:07

some well known brands in the US, but the rotating tooth comb really could see a new emergence people who want a simple, affordable, easy way to not damage their hair every day. And look, there are a lot of people that don't know they are damaging their hair, but looking good, is it? Would you agree? Oh, yeah, I feel like I look try to look good all the time. It doesn't work out. But hey, at least I'm trying.

14:42

Doesn't look good. I mean, women and hair, it's really my wife has gotta look good. Yeah? Same with my dogs. I have a gold retriever, and I'm already, like, I need to comb him with one of these things. Yeah, go. What's your pet's name?

14:57

Jack, all right? Jack. Jack.

15:00

Needs to speak for me, when he tries to, you'll notice the difference. I mean, he will sit down and lay at your feet, and he'll enjoy it more than you will. I'm sure he will. He loves getting that all the time. The one of the things I was curious about so the product in itself, it's one of those like, yeah, duh. Obviously, that makes a ton of sense. So when you have something like that that is so differentiated, but also an easy tweak, right? Like, you take a standard comb with a very still tooth to it, changing it out, obviously, you've got the manufacturing around it, but if it's got that type of approach. How are you dealing with the competition of like people trying to rip off that, that concept? Do you have a lot of people that are making their own rotating teeth that you kind of have to have fun legal battles with?

15:54

Probably two, well, I shouldn't say 2.2 billion, but the population of China really is trying to rip it off. They haven't really been successful yet, but there are a lot of Asians that order the comb. And clearly,

16:14

you certainly can reverse engineer anything

16:19

you've got to make the mold. As a matter of fact, a more interesting part of the business is in order to make the product, you got to make the mold. And what I learned a lot about manufacturing is the terms. It's manufacturing, it's parts, it's the hopper, it's how you build the mold. Do you realize that a mold has water lines to cool the product as you remove it. I mean, there's so much to learn. So yes, the Chinese, the Japanese, the Asians, they can duplicate all those things.

16:56

I have gotten some feedback that, yeah, they duplicated some of the combs, but they're not that good yet. And one of the secrets in the Philippines is they want the original. So the term original hair Doctor rotating tooth comb really is her claim to fame. People want the original. People want the first and if I found a way to connect, promote,

17:25

I'm getting there. But word of mouth really is my best

17:30

method. And and working with podcasts, maybe even the Dennis Prager show, doing radio advertising really seems to to work. I'm working with a few people who have podcasts, and every time they advertise on Saturday night, I get a whole host of Hoarders. So it's it's working. So the podcast works. People's enthusiasm works.

18:04

We're even doing a contest. You know, send me a video and earn 25% off on your next order. So I'd love to invite your audience to buy a home. Do a video, and let's have fun together. Let's do something exciting together. You know,

18:24

my newest influencer, so if you're a podcast, as influencers, step right up. Yeah, that was actually gonna be my next question, because this has, like, this has social media and influencer marketing written all over it? What's how has that approach been going for you? Has it something you've kind of

18:45

dabbled in? But

18:46

I am open so somebody who

18:51

high energy, enthusiastic, but really means it, uses it really means it. I'd love to connect with someone like Brianna. Brianna who started, oh,

19:05

not but to enhance it. What about a beautiful comb? Or any beautiful young lady who is has to cosmetic line, or a distributor like Sephora would be really a great match for me, even Dolly Parton. I mean, Dolly Parton started her own pet line. She could, you know, private label. So I'm at dolly women, yes, women, women who want to private label. So I would rather just be a wonderful manufacturer and really help launch the label for someone else who really wants to, you know, leverage the brand. Yeah? So it would be fun. It would be exciting. Why not? You know, I want to build something. Yeah, I would think that even.

20:00

Seating micro influencers would do fantastic as well. Because while it would be amazing for someone like Rihanna or Dolly Parton to hop on, which I know are common listeners of our show,

20:13

the I feel like the micro side, because there's so many beauty influencers out there that you really could look at like the product is obviously, it's a comb. It's not the world's most expensive thing, so giving it to micro influencers to help them create some content, using that content to then develop your own advertising like from a social perspective, I think this has Tiktok written all over it, because I know this audience especially would go something would be a lot more interested in something like this. That's a lot at a lower price point than something that's like some ridiculous, crazy makeup stuff that's always hundreds of dollars. Is insane home. I mean, it's it can be fun. It's effective. It's got brushes, etc. The whole family could use it.

20:58

It works on most hair, probably not the, the best for Wired hair, but every other hair type in the world, it's really, really wonderful.

21:11

Yes, I put a challenge out to your podcast audience. Find Me, connect with me. Let's,

21:19

let's influence beautiful. Actually, that is a beautiful segue to either to the first, obviously a thank you so much for being on the show. We appreciate you being on here. I would love for you to let other listeners know. Where can they find out more about you, and, of course, more about hair doctor. Oh, I would love to tell you our website, www.hairdoctorproducts.com

21:46

or amazon.com

21:49

search for hair Doctor rotating tooth combs. You're in my pillow. On my store carries hair Doctor combs. Another source, of course, my new influencer, whomever it might be, and they're listening next the next link,

22:11

beautiful Diane, thank you so much for being on the show. Obviously, everyone who tuned in, thank you as well. Please make sure you do the usual thing, rate, review, subscribe, all that fun stuff, on whichever podcast platform you prefer, or head over to theecommshow.com to check out all of our previous episodes. But as usual, thank you all for joining us, and thank you as well, and we'll see you all next time. Have a go.

22:32

Thank you for tuning in to The E-Comm Show head over to theecommshow.com to subscribe on your favorite podcast platform or on the BlueTuskr YouTube channel. The E-Comm Show is brought to you by BlueTuskr, a full service digital marketing company specifically for e-commerce sellers looking to accelerate their growth. Go to bluetuskr.com Now for more information. Make sure to tune in next week for another amazing episode of The E-Comm Show.