Kim (00:01.762)
Hi Deanna, welcome. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm looking forward to our conversation.
Deeannah Seymour (00:06.842)
Kim, thanks so much for having me.
Kim (00:08.399)
So I have to say, I'll be fully transparent from the beginning. I have not tried your products, but many people in my community have. And I would love to explore your company and sort of what brought you to create an incredible women's health brand and how you are helping serve women. So maybe if you can tell us a little bit about what brought you into this space.
Deeannah Seymour (00:34.29)
Sure, happy to do so. You know, it's interesting, I never intended to be an entrepreneur, but that saying necessities the mother of invention has never been more true in my case. I actually spent 20 years in the pharmaceutical industry, crazily enough, and during that time I had been on...
Ton of antibiotics for sinus infections ended up having two surgeries and had this tumor and Needless to say as women we all know what happens when we're on a lot of antibiotics It destroys our flora throughout our entire bodies particularly in our vaginas and I was searching for a holistic alternative for feminine care In my case at the time for yeast infections
but I wanted it to be backed by published clinical data and having a degree in science at a background that was really important to me. And so I started doing some research and found tons of published clinical data on boric acid in the treatment of yeast infections and also for vaginal odor.
and I tried it and it literally changed my life. The crazy thing was at the time, both in the US and Canada, it was only available through compounding pharmacies and it was incredibly difficult to obtain and very expensive too. So I...
started exploring ways to bring this to market and truthfully I felt a moral obligation to do so because I knew there were millions of women who could benefit from it. Conferred with tons of OBGYNs and they're like we love boric acid DNA but we can only get it through the compounding pharmacy and it's just not very convenient for our patients. So I believe there are no coincidences in life and part of that is my
Deeannah Seymour (02:38.916)
My daughter's ice hockey coach had a manufacturing facility that made her ice hockey products. mean, what are the odds of that? Well, also, I have to put this in perspective. I'm in Nashville, so not a ton of hockey players. We do have the Predators, and she was the only girl in a league of 300 boys, too. when you...
Kim (02:46.841)
Yeah.
Kim (03:01.741)
I was going to say, how does that happen with a hockey coach?
Deeannah Seymour (03:04.932)
Right? So I found out Coach had this consumer products company and he also did his own manufacturing. Went to him and he thought I was going to complain about ice time for her. But instead I had a stack of studies and he's a science nerd like me and he was like, you know what? He was so convinced by the data. He's like, let's, let's do it. And that was in.
2013 and 2014 we launched on Amazon and within six months it was the bestseller in the category and We knew we were onto something not only because of the velocity of the sales, but most importantly Because of the reviews of the women who had tried it For a little context, you know, I said it works for
For odor, so in the US we're required to market for feminine odor, but in Canada we're required to market for yeast infections. So, you're in Canada, so this makes perfect sense. we, particularly for the women who suffer from recurrent odor.
it's recurrent 50 % of the time in women who have it. So it's debilitating. We're talking about women who had suffered for decades and the only other alternatives were, know, antibiotics or over-the-counter treatments and...
it was affected every aspect of a woman's life, you from intimacy to socially, like they didn't feel like they could go to the gym and exercise or get into bathing suit or even get a pedicure for that matter because there's so much shame and stigma associated with it. So it really allowed for women to have an opportunity for their vaginal itch or odor and particularly women who are
Deeannah Seymour (05:03.41)
maybe in a healthcare desert where they don't have a lot of access to healthcare but can pick up the phone and call their provider. We always recommend they do that. allows it an affordable alternative for these issues for women that are so common. Some of the top two reasons a woman will visit a doctor in her lifetime. So that's how we started and then.
Kim (05:19.098)
Mm-hmm.
Deeannah Seymour (05:27.442)
Fast forward, I was gonna continue doing this side hustle because I was a single mom. I had this great job with all the benefits that I thought that I needed for my security. God had other plans for me. He really wanted me running PhD and I exited in 2017 to come over and run the company full time.
Deeannah Seymour (05:57.971)
One of my first initiatives was to make the product available at retail when women needed it most, because at that time, Amazon Prime wasn't what it is today. It was only in select cities where you could get it next day or same day. And you know this, because what you do day in and day out, that when women have issues with their vaginal health, they want it solved right away.
be taking steps to improve it.
ended up scraping together $7,000, which was a ton of money for us at the time, and went to, it was a speed dating session called an ECRM between brands and retailers. Every 10 minutes, I had a new retailer come to my table, and at that session, at that meeting, I was able to land Target and CVS chain wide, and then things just started rolling from
there because we were meeting such an unmet need. Then Walmart called and the end of 2019 we were in around 6,000 doors between Target and CBS and now we're in over 50,000 between the US and Canada. So pretty much every major retailer in both countries. And now we have a whole line of product that we're super excited about.
Kim (07:23.28)
Yeah.
That's amazing. Huge congratulations. I know how hard that is and those chunks of money that seem like the biggest risk at the time, but that obviously paid off for you. And now you have so many more women who can be helped, which is amazing. So I guess I want to, I want to start, I want to understand what boric acid is, but before that you've, you've mentioned the differences between Canada and the U S and other parts of the world are different as well, but we'll speak to North America where we are.
Deeannah Seymour (07:29.052)
Thank you.
Kim (07:56.326)
The languaging that Health Canada wants is different from what the FDA wants, which can in and of itself create some confusion. But the two points you mentioned, so in the United States, you say odor, and in Canada, you say yeast infection. So I guess my question is, does a yeast infection always equate to odor, and is odor always as a result of having a yeast infection?
Deeannah Seymour (08:22.854)
Yeah, great question. And yes and no. You know, first of all, I want to say, and I mentioned it earlier, if you feel like you have either one of these issues, the first thing that we recommend as a company is to consult your health care provider so that they can determine accurately your course of treatment if any is needed or what you might be dealing with. So I want to put that out there into the world that if any
the women are suffering these two issues. yes, yeast infections don't always result in odor. Sometimes they don't at all.
But, know, vaginal odor can be caused by a lot of different things. You know, can be a change in a diet. As a matter of fact, when the keto diet was really at its height, I guess it was probably five or six years ago, you might know better than I. But...
it's what there was a link it was actually in the New York Times that women were getting the article said keto crotch because of their diet was causing vaginal odor. So it could be your diet, could be medications, it could be sexual partners, it could be a whole bunch of different things. But I think if you've ever had it as a woman, you just know when you're off, like it's just not quite right. A lot of times,
Many times women and menopause will start experiencing vaginal order for the first time in their lives through no fault of their own. And that's one thing we've tried to explain as a brand and remove that shame and stigma associated with these issues because while they're very common, they're not normal, but they are very common. It's things that we should never be ashamed of and know that there are alternatives out there for those. So yeah, consult your doctor, but yeah, not all.
Deeannah Seymour (10:23.614)
always do yeast infections result in odor.
Kim (10:27.539)
Okay. And so you've talked about some of the things that can contribute to odor. Would those be the same things that could also contribute to yeast infections or are there other things that we need to consider from a yeast infection perspective?
Deeannah Seymour (10:39.422)
So yes, there are probably other things that need to be considered from a yeast infection perspective. You know, sometimes it's also your...
your partner can sometimes be a carrier for yeast infections. I've known several people who've experienced that and oftentimes the partner is asymptomatic. There are no symptoms, just is on their skin and it just so happens that some women are more susceptible to them than others. It could be too that a wet bathing suit, sitting around in a wet workout attire from
Sweat could also create the perfect environment for those conditions to happen. So, yeah, a lot of different things that we don't think of can cause those issues.
Kim (11:34.459)
Mm-hmm. So yeah, you don't, hear of yeast infection and we immediately think vagina. We don't think penis or we don't think male, right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Deeannah Seymour (11:42.16)
Right, exactly. Yeah, but it's very common. As a of fact, was in Toronto, as matter of fact, at the Canadian Women's Show, and we talked to probably 6,000 women there, and so many of them had said that their partner is, after intercourse, they seem to get a yeast infection after intercourse. So, very, very common.
Kim (12:05.266)
Mm-hmm.
And you mentioned the transition to menopause being something that's also a trigger. So I'm going to assume that's the change in the hormone. So the decline in estrogen, is that the only contributor?
Deeannah Seymour (12:23.97)
Yes, that is one of the main contributors. You know, when your hormones are fluctuating, causes, you know, oftentimes your pH to get just all out of whack. And when that happens, it creates a favorable environment for the odor to start occurring. So in many women, you know, that we speak with never experienced this issue, this issue, and then all of sudden, like, what?
what else is happening to my body. It's like what else could go wrong? We'll add this to the list. Anyway, you gotta laugh to keep from crying, right? But yeah, it's, and so many times the women that we speak with feel like it's their fault. I would say.
Kim (12:56.019)
Yeah, I know a big long list
Kim (13:04.572)
Yeah.
Deeannah Seymour (13:17.964)
over 50 % of the time. Women are thinking that it must be something that I've done.
so much so that we've even fielded phone calls from partners who were asking us, could this be a sign that my partner's been unfaithful because all of a sudden they have vaginal odor when they've never had it before. so a lot of misinformation out there about this. And it's interesting too that I think over half of our website visitors are men who, yeah,
Kim (13:52.828)
Interesting.
Deeannah Seymour (13:54.44)
We've had some beautiful conversations with men who really want to help their partner with these issues and are searching for information in order to do so.
Kim (14:05.575)
Yeah, that's amazing. I actually find that too. There are some, there are quite a few men who purchased my, my exercise program for, for their partners or wives or what have you as well, which is great. Yeah. I think that's really amazing that the conversation, we don't think the conversation is being had much, but obviously it is happening. So I think that's really great. Yeah. So then, so, boric acid was sort of that you had been researching you
Deeannah Seymour (14:16.506)
I love that.
Deeannah Seymour (14:24.112)
Yeah.
in your hat without a doubt.
Kim (14:35.463)
found out about boric acid. What is, first of all, boric acid?
Deeannah Seymour (14:40.112)
Yeah, it's a naturally occurring compound that is found in seawater and you know, something else that's kind of crazy actually have it on my desk. But when I was originally from Mississippi in the middle of nowhere and
My grandparents grew up on the farm. It's been in the family for over 100 years. And I just, probably saw this when I was a child and maybe it instilled in me that it was fate, that it was meant to be. But it wasn't until about six years ago that when I was back home that I was looking in the medicine cabinet and found boric acid.
Kim (15:31.804)
Wow.
Deeannah Seymour (15:32.948)
I mean look at that. This is like from 1930 I think.
Kim (15:37.595)
Yeah, people would buy that at an antique store because it's a cool tin, right?
Deeannah Seymour (15:41.261)
right?
So there was one of these in every bathroom. And if you say it says for a wash. what women were doing and actually my great great grandfather was a physician of practice medicine out of that house and they would make a douche out of boric acid because they had access to the crystals and they dissolve it in water and they the women would use that.
to help with these issues. it's, you know, tried and trusted. It's been around, been used like this for over a hundred years. So our ancestors knew about this, but you know, along the way it just kind of went by the wayside. And interestingly enough, when I was back there this past summer, I was looking through this, we have this old cabinet that has a lot of my great-grandfather's old medical tools and what have you.
of this container and there was this old like gel suppository that had boric acid in it along with some other things, ingredients, and I was like my gosh it was meant to be.
Kim (16:58.098)
Yeah, that's amazing. Wow. So it's from from seawater. is it the salt or the is it minerals or like would if we sat in the ocean?
Deeannah Seymour (17:06.681)
Yeah, it's a naturally occurring compound that is in the dirt, it's in the sea, it's just one of those things that over the years somebody took notice of and realized its properties, that clearly it's got those antifungal properties. So, fascinating.
Kim (17:29.096)
Yeah, I always think of what was the first time that somebody thought about, know, and had found that and decided that it would be good for, as you say, a wash or yeah, so interesting.
Deeannah Seymour (17:33.042)
Right?
Deeannah Seymour (17:37.37)
Yeah, maybe they were using it for another application and had something on their hand and realized, my gosh, my fungus is gone. I don't know. It's usually something like that, an accident.
Kim (17:44.209)
Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Kim (17:49.919)
So how does it, so you're talking, so you've explained where it's coming, coming from. It's been used for hundreds of years. People have known about it in, you know, in our, in our past. And so now what, how is it different? The crystal, that little tin that you showed up full of crystals and you found a suppository as well. What does, what does yours look like and how, like how is it administered? And then how is it actually, what is it doing in the body?
Deeannah Seymour (18:17.279)
Yeah, it looks, actually I don't have one. Maybe I do. Yes, I do. So ours, looks like a capsule that, you know.
you would ingest, you do not. You insert this vaginally. It just looks like this. You insert it with your finger digitally before bedtime. And you just use it. Actually, the instructions in Canada are different than the US, but in Canada, we're required to say insert one nightly for 14 nights for your yeast infection. But in the US, you insert as needed for odor, which
Kim (18:49.812)
course.
Deeannah Seymour (19:01.637)
You know, you can also find it helpful, you know, if you're taking medications that
like antibiotic, psychologist infections, can use it during your antibiotic therapy or using it after intercourse or after your period too can be helpful as well if those are triggers like we spoke earlier. But yeah, it's that simple. You just insert it nightly. And we also have another version of the boric acid suppository that will be coming to Canada soon, but it's probably our second or third best seller here in the US. excuse me, it's a moisturizing,
version that has the boric acid but in addition has vitamin E and coconut oil in it. So it's like a soft gel that you insert vaginally before bedtime as well. You can actually use that
for vaginal odor or for the yeast infections in Canada, or for just added moisture as needed. We have millions of consumers who will insert one just once or twice a week, or as needed, or added moisture.
Kim (20:11.409)
Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Yeah, vitamin E is is common in in some of the vaginal moisturizer products. The coconut oil piece was interesting to me because I've seen some stuff on the internet that talks about coconut oil being great. Lots of people use it for it's not really a moisturizer. They use it for a lubricant or they use it to reduce friction. And there's other people that say that it's not the right pH.
and certain people could potentially have increased risks of infection. So have you come across any of that information?
Deeannah Seymour (20:46.714)
So the fact that we have the boric acid in it, it has the, he underacts that. Yeah, and we are, that's one thing about us, we're built on science.
Kim (20:50.932)
counter-accent.
Deeannah Seymour (21:01.634)
Every ingredient that we put into our products is research. We have three full-time product development scientists. In addition to that, we lean heavily on our advisory board of OBGYNs. And that's one thing that we're constantly doing is leaning into that community to say, do you have a white space in your practice where you wish you had an option for your patients that doesn't exist? And that's how a lot of our products have come to be.
the moisturizing suppository came to be because a lot of women who were using the original Bork acid suppository were using coconut oil to insert the suppository because they didn't have adequate moisturization to have for it to dissolve effectively. So I'm like, well, let's just make it all in one. We actually had to buy a special machine to make it ourselves because no one else would do it. So I...
When I had that idea, I like, we're going to find a way to make this happen. But yes, we really lean into science and are very intentional about every ingredient that we use.
Kim (22:11.158)
You brought up a point there that I've never heard said before that if the if there's not enough moisture within the walls of the vagina for the product to dissolve appropriately. So if somebody was say post menopause had never been on estrogen, hadn't been using moisturizers, had drier, thinner tissue, then would the boric acid not be, it may not work, it may not be effective, it may not dissolve is what you're saying.
Deeannah Seymour (22:40.752)
Yeah, it might not dissolve effectively to where we'll just have some of the granules still, you know, within their vagina.
That's why that moisturizing version is such a great alternative for them because that way it's evenly distributed within the vagina and it's much more comfortable too for those women. So we're finding it to be, absolutely love it. And even if they aren't experiencing any odor or any yeast infections, they're still using it for the added moisture. And as you said,
Vitamin E is great for those tissues as well.
Kim (23:23.767)
Is there any research that it can aid in UTIs?
Deeannah Seymour (23:31.44)
No, there is not any research on that yet. Stay tuned.
Kim (23:39.447)
Stay tuned. Okay. Okay. And what if somebody is using a vaginal DHEA suppository or vaginal estrogen, either tablet or cream. So I'm thinking if somebody was using estrogen cream, they could insert the boric acid tablet, and then they could apply the estrogen cream externally. But if they were using a vagifem tablet, vaginal estrogen tablet, you wouldn't use the two together, I'm assuming. Is that correct?
Deeannah Seymour (24:09.915)
I would always ask them to talk to their healthcare provider as far as mixing any type of products together. That way they can get the best information. That's kind of our go-to on those things. We're experts on our product but not on how it interacts with others. So it's best to the provider.
Kim (24:24.874)
Yeah. Yeah.
Kim (24:33.355)
Yeah, okay.
And so the boric acid, what actually is it doing in the body? What's the therapeutic angle?
Deeannah Seymour (24:42.82)
Yeah, that's a great question. It's really, they don't fully understand it, truthfully. They know that it works and they're not sure if it's intracellular to the yeast, but somehow it prohibits the growth.
But it is, when you look at all the data out there, it's, really just haven't figured it out, but they know it works. And there have been long-term use studies done on the safety and indicate that it is safe for long-term use. hopefully one day we'll know that because it, I'm so curious as to the exact mechanism of action, but it hasn't been determined yet.
Kim (25:29.656)
Mm-hmm.
And is it more, is it, if somebody has an active yeast infection, is it a treatment or is it more of a prevention and reduce the like it is a treatment. Okay.
Deeannah Seymour (25:41.522)
it's a treat.
It is a treatment that can be used preventatively as well, which is unlike any product on the market. So as a matter of fact, I think the Health Canada guidelines result from the Centers for Disease Control sexual health guidelines here in the US, which indicate its safety and efficacy for recurrent vulvavaginal candidiasis.
Kim (25:47.969)
Okay.
Deeannah Seymour (26:13.964)
but many, many providers, especially in Canada, well, in the US, do recommend it for that prevention or prophylactic use as well. And a lot of times too, you've probably had some diabetic patients of yours who suffer from recurrent yeast infections, unfortunately find it beneficial to use boric acid in that regard for...
Kim (26:25.335)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Deeannah Seymour (26:43.772)
prevention as well.
Kim (26:45.877)
Yeah, good to know. And you also have so you've talked about the boric acid and then the boric acid that has the coconut oil and vitamin E and then you also have a vulvar bomb. What are is there boric acid in there too? Or what are the ingredients in that product?
Deeannah Seymour (26:52.242)
Mm-hmm.
Deeannah Seymour (26:55.836)
Yeah.
Deeannah Seymour (26:59.62)
Yeah, we're so excited about this product.
One of the things, mean, our goal is to improve the lives of women. And I want women to have affordable, accessible products that can really improve their well-being. And one of the reasons we're heavily leaning into menopause, well, many reasons, but I watched my mom suffer through that stage with very few alternatives or options for her care. And
when we spend a third of our lives in menopause, we shouldn't suffer through any stage of our lives. So, like we, as a company, need to lean into that and really make affordable products that are clinically backed to people that shop at Walmart and everywhere else. So, I took...
I challenged our product development team to come up with a product with our vulva balm that had the ingredients that were really in those luxury balms that existed like squalene and sea buckthorn oil, moringa oil, shea butter, all of these.
really kind of luxury ingredients and add them to our product so that we could create an affordable version. And we've done that with that Volvo bomb. is spectacular. We hope to be launching that in Canada within the next year or two. We will be getting distribution of that product in some major retailers here in the US next year. Right now it's only online. But in addition to that, you know, I challenged our team
Kim (28:35.842)
Awesome.
Deeannah Seymour (28:49.752)
to come up with a vaginal moisturizing gel that had hyaluronic acid in it that's affordable and they did a spectacular job with that too because traditionally the hyaluronic acid products that are intra-vaginal were cost prohibitive to the women at mass.
We now have a fantastic moisturizing gel that's available at most every major retailer in the US and coming soon to Canada to work through the Health Canada guidelines.
Kim (29:20.162)
We're always the last.
Deeannah Seymour (29:26.038)
Yeah, and we have a menopause supplement that we added creatine to and it just so happens my the hockey coach has a patent on the number one specialty creatine on the market and there's data emerging like significant data to demonstrate how creatine supplementation can help with brain fog and menopause and more to come on that so stay tuned but that's why we added it to our menopause supplement.
that is at some of the major retailers as well. So really leaning heavily into those, you know, scientific, there's evidence-backed formulations of our products.
Kim (30:08.835)
Yeah, yeah, I'm a huge fan of creatine. So I look forward to checking out your products. And one thing you say on your website, it was it was below the founder story. It says you want all women to know themselves. And I don't know if I've quoted that exactly. But what what do you mean by that? Know yourself well. Okay, yeah.
Deeannah Seymour (30:22.704)
Yes. Know yourself well. Yeah. Yeah.
So it's important for us to know our bodies and to listen to our bodies. that's what I was doing when I developed this product. I knew I needed a better option. And that know yourself well is kind of, it's a play on words. Know yourself well as in you understand your body and you understand when things aren't right. But also know yourself well into a better version of yourself. So in getting,
and becoming the best version of yourself that you could possibly be. I feel like even having these conversations with your friends about your body and the changes that are happening, I feel like those are some of the richest conversations I've had with other women who are going through the same things that you're going through. So don't be ashamed to talk about these changes because you're not alone. We're all going through them and there's power in this
that we have and the more we talk about it openly like you're doing, you're doing such a fantastic service to women all over the globe in having conversations about things that are common but you know where we can improve their lives.
Kim (31:48.914)
Mm I love that. Where can people find your products? Where can they learn more about you and your amazing company?
Deeannah Seymour (31:55.524)
Yeah, so we're at phdfemininehealth.com or phdfemininehealth.ca in Canada. we're actually in Canada, shoppers, Rexall, Loblaws, Walmart. I know I'm leaving out some, but London Drugs, guess the major retailers there in Canada. And then in the US Walmart, Target, CVS Walgreens,
Kim (32:14.125)
London drugs. Okay, yep. Awesome.
Deeannah Seymour (32:25.4)
Kroger, Publix, pretty much all the major food and mass stores as well.
Kim (32:31.777)
Amazing, amazing. Well, thank you so much for your work, first of all, for bringing this to market to help all these amazing people with all the amazing products that you have. And also thank you so much for your time and sharing your wisdom with us today. I really, really appreciate it.
Deeannah Seymour (32:46.38)
Thank you Kim, great to chat with you.
