From movie production to tequila to sports teams, Dwayne Johnson’s portfolio has long included passion-project businesses and entrepreneurial moves. And PAPATUI, his latest venture, might be his most ambitious yet. Entering the skin-care market with a series of 22 products on-sale online and in Target, Johnson aims to bring the self-care to a daily routine for men and open the doors for men to join the beauty conversation and feel like they belong. With a focus on whole wellness and accessibility, Johnson says PAPATUI is for every man who’s ever asked him what he does for his skin.
“The interaction is always the same when it comes to [asking about my skin routine],” Johnson says to GQ. “They start looking around like, ‘Hey, can I ask you: What do you do?’ I wanted to get guys in the space of being comfortable owning our skin care and our self-care because we like to think—we try our best, by the way—to own all these other areas.”
The line, which includes everything from cleansers to tattoo care, isn’t just sleek and carefully curated. Every product also comes in under $10.
The Brand: PAPATUI
“I get a lot of questions and DMs about how I take care of myself,” Dwayne Johnson says in the video intro of PAPTUI’s launch. “What’s my morning routine, what’s my nighttime routine, how much do I work out,” he continues, adding more and more questions. “Are you a great kisser, if you are named sexiest man alive, is that in perpetuity? I get a lot of questions,” he grins.
But in all those questions, Johnson realized that while men were comfortable asking about his workout and diet, they seemed embarrassed and uncomfortable to ask how he takes care of his skin.
“I found that they asked me [what I do for my skin], when no one else was around,” Johnson says.
Part of changing the tone of that conversation from embarrassing to natural was acknowledging that men feel out of place when it comes to skin care. Considered part of the beauty world, men can find taking care of their skin feels uncomfortable because the space is made with women in mind.
And while it’s true that our skin essentially needs the same things, Johnson wanted to meet men where they were and start the conversation there.
“It’s okay,” he says. “You can tell me I have nice skin! I put a lot of care into this.”
The result was a line designed to be universally appealing, powerful and effective. With face, body, hair and tattoo-care products that are cruelty-free, vegan, phthalate-free, sulfate-free and paraben-free, the line is about streamlining good self-care down to the nourishing essentials.
Dwayne Johnson Learned about Toner from Emily Blunt
We’ve known that Dwayne Johnson was into wellness and self-care for a while. So it really shouldn’t be a surprise that that includes taking care of his skin. In fact, the way he tells it, he’s even gotten into the juicy details with his co-star and good friend, Emily Blunt.
“Emily Blunt is one of my best friends,” Johnson tells GQ. “We were on set, talking about our skin care routines and going back and forth: What’s your exfoliator? What’s your lotion? What’s your morning and night routines? We started laughing and realized we were using many of the same products. Finally, she goes, Well, I gotta ask you: What toner do you use? And I said, ‘I don’t use a toner.’ She looked at me like I kicked my puppy. She sent me the toner that she uses, and I said I’ll give it six weeks. I used it and was blown away, and then I became obsessed. I said: ‘Okay, this feels like a secret weapon for me.’ ”
