Our latest Beauty Boss is Michelle Yeh, Founder of Hygiene Hero—a safe and effective natural hygiene wellness brand that focuses on women’s intimate care. Prior to launching her brand, Yeh spent 30 years working in the health and beauty industry for companies such as Mary Kay Cosmetics and Shaklee Corporation.

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In 2008, she left her job as Sr. Vice President, International at Shaklee Corporation, to open the first organic beauty store in China—which led to the opening of 13 more store over the course of the next three years. After moving back to San Francisco in 2018, along with her husband and seven rescue cats, Yeh launched Hygiene Hero in 2020 with a mission to bring clean beauty principles to the intimate care category.

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Hygiene Hero’s products range from natural deodorant for private areas to a multifunctional, innovative serum that soothes and hydrates the labia and surrounding skin. By using safe and high-quality materials, powerful botanical extracts, and clinically proven bio-active ingredients, Yeh is empowering consumers to choose an eco-conscious lifestyle that helps to protect the environment.

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We chatted with Yeh who shared her favorite beauty and wellness tips, secrets for success, best advice, and much more.

When was Hygiene Hero founded and what does the name mean?

We are a natural hygiene wellness brand with a focus on women’s intimate care, but we didn't choose a very feminine or abstract name for the brand. Instead, we chose a name that is empowering and can clearly convey two key messages: our products' key benefit, which is hygiene wellness; and how our products can help transform our users into heroes who embrace their own inner superpower and help protect Mother Earth.

We believe in the power of self-love and that intimate care is an expression of ultimate self-love because when you take care of an area that most people won't see, you are really doing it for yourself and nobody else. When we embrace our inner superpower and recognize our self-worth, allowing ourselves to love and be loved, and choose a lifestyle that is gentle on Mother Earth, we become Hygiene Heroes in our daily lives.

Hygiene Hero’s Super Deo is an all-purpose deodorant available in three scents that brings balance to the microbiome and inhibits odor-causing bacteria.

What inspired the creation of the brand?

I grew up in Taiwan, a tropical island with a hot climate and high humidity. I remember when I was young, I used to wear a lot of tight clothes, like many young women, and I would often experience UTIs or yeast infections. My mom would give me those harsh feminine washes packed with chemicals to kill bacteria, but little did we know, they were throwing me into a vicious cycle because those harsh intimate washes were also killing all the good bacteria and throwing my vulva skin's pH off balance.

As I grew older and wiser, I began to seek out safer and gentler products that could help maintain a healthy microbiome balance. However, I was surprised to see that the category continued to be dominated by traditional harsh chemical brands. It was not easy to find brands with well-thought-out formulations and eco-friendly packaging that I would personally buy.

After spending 30 years in the health and beauty industry, I didn't want to create another skincare or makeup brand because the space is so crowded and there are already many great brands I personally would use. I wanted to tackle a category that is not very well served by the industry so I chose intimate care.

We started the brand in 2020 but had to pivot during the pandemic by selling a lot of hand sanitizers and face masks. We only launched our intimate care line in Summer 2021 with Private Bars (intimate wash) and then later V.V. Oil (in 2022). Sexual wellness wasn't actually part of my original plan. It was added later in 2023 and became an integral part of our product line.

Hygiene Hero Vipstick Serum is a multifunctional, innovative serum that soothes, hydrate, and protects the labia and the surrounding skin while enhancing pleasure and arousal.

Does Hygiene Hero have a hero product?

Vipstick Serum is our best seller because it is so unique and innovative. We call it "a skin-nourishing pleasure primer for your lower lips." It is truly one of a kind. Designed specifically for the labia and the clitoris, the most sensitive areas of a woman's entire body with 8,000 nerve endings, it is a multifunctional, innovative serum intended to do more than just soothe, hydrate, and protect your labia and the surrounding skin. It also serves as an arousal pleasure serum.

This came about when I was developing an intimate care product specifically for the labia. The original intention was to provide hydration and nourishment for the labia skin. During internal product testing, we received feedback that the product provided excellent instant hydration, which seemed to awaken sexuality among the testers. It got me thinking; at 56 years old, post-menopausal, I personally dislike lubricants and tossed it after only one try years ago.

I thought there must be other women like me who dislike lubricants because they often are tacky and messy (and often feel cheap because of the way they are formulated and packaged). I thought there must be women like me who simply want something that can elevate our intimate pleasure while also being nourishing and good for the skin of our most delicate area.

So, I reworked the formula to include ingredients that would boost blood circulation, stimulate the clitoris, and generate a warming sensation. Thus, Vipstick Serum was born, and it became a hit! It contains a proprietary 3xP Bio Complex (Peptides, Postbiotics. and Plant Extracts). Three to four swipes of the stick will:

Plump up labia and clitoris and restore suppleness and elasticity to aging skin
Intensely hydrate and relieve itching, burning, and dryness
Clinically proven to release neuropeptides, activate sensory neurons, create a warming sensation and boost blood circulation
Protect delicate skin from friction
Calm irritated, chafed skin
Help maintain a healthy microbiome balance

We have customers saying it gives them "the best Os of their lives." Even women who have undergone radical hysterectomy tell us that it greatly enhances their intimacy. I have tears streaming down my face whenever I see reviews like this! It really makes it all worth it when we see that what we do is helping women elevate their intimate joy regardless of their age.

The Vipstick Serum is available in multiple scents including French Vanilla.

What are your favorite products from your brand?

My two favorites are our Super Deo and Vipstick Serum. I've always wanted to develop a deodorant because for more than 10 years, I suffered from ineffective natural deodorants. They either gave me serious rashes due to baking soda or they didn't last, requiring me to carry one around in my bag for re-application in the middle of the day. Above all, I really dislike most of their packaging. They are either plastic, which we all know by now that less than 10% of them will be recycled at the end, or they have look "granola" and lack a luxurious feel.

So, when I started this project, I set out to offer something that is truly natural and effective, eco-friendly, and visually appealing. I think we accomplished all that with Super Deo, a truly natural deodorant that is not only aluminum-free but also free of silicone, baking soda, synthetic fragrances, or ozokerite (Earth Wax), which is actually a petrochemical used by leading natural deodorant brands. Everyone who has seen Super Deo has complimented its beautiful paper tube design.

Vipstick Serum is an innovative concept that blends serious skincare with pleasure. It not only provides the utmost nourishing care to women's most delicate area but also helps them elevate or reclaim their intimacy and sex life. This is literally what motivates me to get out of bed every morning, knowing I am making a significant impact on many women's lives.

Where are your products sold?

Right now, we are mainly focused on growing our own DTC (Direct-To-Consumer) channel, which includes our website with our complete product line and our Amazon Prime branded store with a more limited product selection.

Future plans for the brand?

Our DTC channel is growing nicely but we know in order to get our products into the hands of more people, we need to have a retail presence. We just had our first show with Adit Live LA and we will also exhibit at Expo West in Anaheim next month, with the goal to expand to retail. Right now, we are just exploring our options. In terms of product line, we will continue on the path of intimate care and sexual wellness with high-quality formulations in eco-friendly packaging for a delightful user experience.

We will be building on the success of Vipstick Serum and Super Deo, offering seasonal flavored options for Vipstick Serum and new scents for Super Deo throughout the year. We want to be the most delightful and trusted brand for women's most delicate target areas.

Hygiene Hero’s Perfect Pause V.V. Oil is specifically designed to hydrate, nourish, and plump up aging skin in your most delicate areas.

Who inspires you?

I am the type of person who finds inspiration in all places. Like many people, I listen to a lot of podcasts to learn from other entrepreneurs, but honestly, more often than not, it's the everyday heroes who inspire me. It could be the people who barely get by financially themselves but still feed feral cats every day, or individuals who overcome cancer with determination.

While billionaires like Warren Buffet or Bill & Melinda Gates, who give away a big chunk of their wealth, are certainly admirable, those who try their best to give despite having little inspire me the most because they are truly sacrificing their basic comfort to help others. Financial success is great, but it's the people who spread love and kindness with limited means that inspire me the most.

Secret to success?

Authenticity (stay true to yourself), Passion (do what you really love), and Perseverance (never give up).

Beauty secrets?

I am turning 57 in less than three months. I've never done Botox, fillers or any invasive procedures because I am super scared of side-effects and I prefer a more natural approach. I follow a fairly natural and healthy nutrition and skincare regimen. I drink a cup of matcha tea every day because it has the highest content of antioxidants and is less acidic than regular green tea. I try to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, especially berries and leafy veggies, the darker the better because they have more phytonutrients.

In terms of skin care, I always choose brands with a natural or organic formula base that is boosted with clinically proven safe and effective actives such as peptides, hyaluronic acids, plant-based AHA, niacinamide, ceramides, and vitamin C.

Yeh lives in San Francisco with her husband and seven rescue cats from Shanghai.

Wellness tips?

I don't get enough sleep working on a start-up so I am guilty as charged on that one. I am hoping to do better now that we just adopted a big dog. On top of the five cats we already have, we have no choice but to follow a more regular schedule and be more efficient. As I age, I feel the need to read a lot to educate myself because Western medical science is very much treatment-focused, while my Asian heritage emphasizes prevention, which I really like. So, I incorporate a lot of traditional herbs in my cooking, goji berries, mushroom, tumeric, ginseng, dang qui, etc. The easiest way is to add them when making broths, they are delicious and nutritious.

Best advice?

Follow your heart and live with no regrets. You can have fears or worries because that's normal, but you just need to learn how to overcome them. Take my life as an example: I met my husband soon after ending a 9-year relationship with someone really nice but I wasn't compatible with. I was so worried that it was going to be another mistake and that I wasn't ready. When I shared my concerns with this new guy that I had just met, he simply said, "We won't know until we try, right?" Such a simple answer but spot-on. That guy has been my husband for the past 22 years and that was the best decision I've made.

Favorite way to relax?

We love animals, and they have a relaxing effect on me. Our dream is to own an animal sanctuary for rescues and rehabilitation. In 2008, I agreed to move to China for my husband's work assignment because I wanted him to learn Chinese (He is from Croatia). Eleven years later, we returned with my husband's broken Chinese and 7 rescued cats.

Over the past 15 years, we have dedicated our limited spare time to helping animal rescue groups, whether it's finding foster homes, coordinating flight volunteers to transport animals to their forever homes, or raising funds for special projects like the fur-free fashion gala. It brings me the greatest comfort when we can find animals a forever home. The moment I see my cats and touch them, my nerves calm down.

For personal relaxation, I enjoy taking long walks and indulging in hot-stone massages. A long walk in nature often helps me clear my head and sort through all my thoughts.

For more information about Hygiene Hero, visit their website and follow on Instagram: @thehygienehero

[Images courtesy of Hygiene Hero]

Beauty Boss: Michelle Yeh, Founder of Hygiene Hero