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When was the last time you thought about your skincare — down there?
If your go-to is lathering up with a standard bar of soap or body wash, some experts say you could be setting yourself up for a real pain in the rear.
Enter Asset, a cheeky brand putting your backside front and center with dermatologist-backed products designed specifically for your derrière.
“There are brands that represent almost every inch of the body and tackle intimate problems, but no brand has dedicated itself to the butt until Asset,” founder and CEO Chad O’Connell told The Post. “It’s the ultimate taboo.”
He says it’s one worth breaking.
Before launching Asset, O’Connell surveyed 568 people and found that a whopping 93% had experienced butt-related problems at some point in their lives. More than half said they’d dealt with anal irritation in just the past year.
“Anal irritation does not discriminate,” O’Connell said. “It affects everyone equally — men and women, gay and straight, all ages, all backgrounds.”
Most of those issues crop up within about two inches of the anus, a highly sensitive zone called the perineum.
“That’s where people experience issues like excessive itching, inflammation, pain, swelling, and discomfort commonly associated with hemorrhoids and fissures,” O’Connell said.
Already delicate, this skin only gets thinner with age, making problems more common over time.
“Everyday habits can make things worse: using traditional soaps back there, over-wiping, relying heavily on wet wipes, sweat buildup, and sitting or standing for long periods all put stress on this sensitive area,” O’Connell explained.
Add in factors like pregnancy and labor, constipation, anal play, hair removal or even heavy lifting at the gym and you’ve got a perfect storm for discomfort.
“Most people will deal with perianal irritation at some point — they just don’t talk about it,” O’Connell said.
He speaks from experience. Before launching Asset, O’Connell had suffered from a lifetime of chronic hemorrhoids, fissures and inflammation despite good hygiene and overall health.
“A pain in my a— put an idea in my head,” he said. “What if there was a brand that was all about butts?”
While there were products on the market, like numbing creams and greasy balms, O’Connell said they were short-term fixes.
“I was tired of using reactive-care products that never actually solved the problem,” he said. “I needed a daily nourishing solution that simply did not exist.”
Creating one, however, was no small feat.
“It’s extremely tricky to formulate for that part of the body,” O’Connell said.
The perineum includes both external skin and internal mucosal skin — the same kind found on your lips. It also can’t stay wet, and airflow is basically nonexistent.
“No off-the-shelf, slightly modified formulas will do; you have to formulate from the ground up,” he said.
Then there’s the stigma. “There’s a real layer of prudish, puritan energy at play when we’re talking about a polarizing erogenous zone,” O’Connell said. “All of these factors make anal health an uncomfortable, often avoided topic.”
That discomfort can have serious consequences. Colorectal cancer is now one of the leading causes of cancer deaths in adults under 50 — despite being highly treatable when caught early.
“People are often too embarrassed to bring symptoms up to their doctor, and by the time they do, it’s often too late,” O’Connell noted.
“Our mission is to take the taboo out of taking care back there,” he said. “That starts with normalizing conversations about hole health and proper care.”
So O’Connell rolled up his sleeves, teamed up with a dermatologist and cosmetic chemists, and launched Asset’s flagship product — the “Hole Serum” — in 2023.
The creamy, ceramide- and botanical-rich serum is designed for dry skin and aims to calm stressed perianal skin while improving comfort, resilience and appearance.
Asset also created a “Hole Cleanser” for the shower, skipping the harsh surfactants and fragrances found in most soaps.
“A significant downside of surfactant use is disruption and alteration of the natural barrier function of the skin. Perianal skin is particularly prone to this phenomenon,” board-certified dermatologist Dr. Reza Kafi, Asset’s medical advisor, told The Post.
“Use of harsh surfactants on this sensitive body location can cause dryness and irritation and also disrupt barrier formation and integrity.”
Together, the cleanser and serum make up Asset’s “Hole Essentials” — a two-step daily routine that’s pH-balanced, fragrance-free, paraben-free and phthalate-free.
“It’s great for anyone who needs a little extra care due to mild discomfort or irritation from things like waxing, shaving, intimacy, sweat buildup, friction, or excessive wiping or for anyone who simply wants healthier, more radiant skin,” O’Connell said.
Asset also manufacturers a special towel dedicated for your backside.
“We created the ‘Butt Towel’ to highlight the importance of completely drying perianal skin,” O’Connell said. “Excess moisture between the cheeks can lead to issues as small as an itch and, in some cases, can contribute to an environment where fungal irritation is more likely.”
The brightly colored cotton towels are clearly labeled, eliminating any awkward mix-ups.
“Most of the time, any cross-contamination is harmless, but people simply don’t love the idea of drying their face with the same part of a towel they used on their butt (or groin, or feet),” he said.
At the heart of it all is a bigger goal.
“Millions of people live with anal irritation every day and accept it as their normal,” O’Connell said. “People are embarrassed, symptoms get ignored, and a highly preventable cancer ends up affecting far more people than it should.”
Asset’s aim, he said, “is to make buttcare, hemorrhoids and fissures as normal as skincare, acne or dandruff.”
