Nerdwax: An Interview with Creator Don Hejny
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Ever had that moment of frustration where your glasses have once again slipped down your nose? Be it from the shape of your nasal bridge or the lack of nosepads on many of today's popular plastic frame designs, glasses sometimes need more than just the best optical adjustment to stay put. Don Hejny, an engineer out of Nashville, Tennessee decided to do something more than continue to push his glasses up day after day -- he invented nerdwax, a beeswax based product that you can apply to your frames to help keep them in place. No one is a bigger spokesperson for the product than Hejny, a glasses wear and father of two that uses his product daily. "Nerdwax has absolutely changed the way I wear my glasses… there’s times when I forget my tube and find myself so frustrated that I don’t have it with me… but even then… it’s just nice to know that I have a solution!"
Application is simple: just clean your glasses, apply a swipe or two of nerdwax, then place them on your face and go.
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Interested in learning more? Don Hejny shared some of these great insights in our interview:
How often through the day would you need to apply nerdwax to prevent slipping?
It really depends on two factors:
1. How much you apply each time
2. How sweaty/oily your face is during use
The feedback I've received from users has ranged from as often as every two hours to once a day. Personally, I get an average work day out of a single application. During more strenuous activities like running or biking you will probably get about a 1-2 hour application time. If I'm really working up a sweat… I find that once I notice the effect starting to wear off, gently wiping the perspiration from the applied area with my finger helps to get more life out of that single application. Some of my first tubes we're extremely tacky and lasted for longer periods of time, but they were also extremely messy and made nerdwax very sticky and uncomfortable during normal wear… It's taken me awhile to get the formula in that sweet-spot where it is both functional and comfortable.
Any risk of discoloring your frames or nosepads with repeated use?
Nerdwax has been in use for almost a year with our Kickstarter Backers and we have had no experience with that happening!
A chief ingredient in your formula is non-toxic beeswax. Is there any risk for skin reactions to nerdwax?
So far we have had 2 people out of over 5,000 or so actually have an allergic reaction… in both instances they were actually allergic to a naturally occurring element of beeswax called Propolis. I did a little research and discovered it’s an extremely rare allergy and affects a very small set of the population.
Nerdwax was funded by Kickstarter, the website that allows innovators to post their concept and get it funded by internet donors. What was the response to your Kickstarter program? Did it take a long time to drive funding or was it a pretty immediate success?
Nerdwax was a hit on Kickstarter!! We hit our funding goal of $5k before noon on the first day and by the end of our campaign we had raised over $61k! The Kickstarter community is amazing and has been so helpful and encouraging through the process of launching nerdwax. We literally couldn’t have done it without them.
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| nerdwax comes in convenient chapstick-esque tubes that are easy to carry in a purse or pocket via |
Any trials or tribulations of your experience?
Oh yeah!! Just cause it’s simple doesn’t mean it’s easy… Something I’ve had to remind myself daily over the last 8 months! We hit a major snag during our first production run and it ended up putting us about a month behind schedule but I communicated every detail with our Kickstarter Backers and they were all so gracious and understanding! It hasn’t been an easy ride but it’s been a fun one!
Right now you can buy nerdwax on your website. Any future plans for selling in opticals or even in pharmacies or grocery stores?
Absolutely… Right now we are currently in almost 30 retail outlets all over the world… and we keep adding new retail partners all the time!
What should eye care providers like optometrist, ophthalmologists, and opticians know about nerdwax and how it can aid our patients?
Some optometrists have suggested that there is no need for our product if your glasses are fit and adjusted properly and I have to respectfully disagree.
We absolutely advocate properly fitted and adjusted frames, however anyone who has worn glasses for any amount of time understands that even when frames, especially acetate, are properly adjusted they still have the tendency to slide if you have oily skin or start to sweat. That’s where nerdwax is there to help. We make it very clear… Nerdwax is NOT a substitute for properly fitted frames. We’re there to keep your properly fitted frames on your face!
Interested in trying it out? Head to nerdwax.com to purchase a tube or find a retailer near you.
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1 comments
I hadn't heard of this before- I'll have to try it out! Thanks for sharing!
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