Culture Apothecary with Alex Clark - Are Your Personal Care Products Really Non-Toxic? | Zebra Founder Jenn Thatcher

Episode Date: October 15, 2024

Jenn Thatcher founder of ZEBRA discusses her journey from artist to founder of ZEBRA after her children were harmed by our current system. ZEBRA exists to challenge the status quo and question the ingredients and companies that we have trusted and seeks to provide products that are truly black and white. You won't want to miss this episode as she discusses one of the favorite ingredients in the holistic space and her suspicions that it is actually harmful to health. Thank you to our sponsors!Zebra | Use code "ALEX for 10% off any order Masa Chips | Use code "REALALEXCLARK" for 20% OFFWise Traditions | Use code “ALEX” for $25 OFFGood Ranchers | Use code “CLARK” for an additional $25 off your first box and free express shippingYRefy | Call [phone] or visit ⁠⁠yrefy.com⁠Jenn Thatcher Website | yayzebra.comInstagram | @zebra.usInstagram | @jennthatchercollectionFacebook | ZEBRA Alex ClarkInstagram | ⁠⁠⁠@realalexclark⁠⁠⁠Instagram | ⁠⁠⁠@cultureapothecary⁠⁠⁠Facebook | ⁠⁠⁠⁠@realalexclark⁠⁠⁠⁠X | ⁠⁠⁠⁠@yoalexrapz⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube | ⁠⁠⁠⁠@RealAlexClark⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify | ⁠⁠⁠⁠Culture Apothecary with Alex Clark ⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcast | ⁠⁠⁠⁠Culture Apothecary with Alex Clark⁠⁠New 'Culture Apothecary' Merch OUT NOW! Glass tumblers, weekly wellness planners, hats, crewnecks and more. Use code "Alex Clark" for 10% OFF at ⁠⁠⁠⁠tpusamerch.com⁠⁠Join the Cuteservatives Facebook group to connect with likeminded friends who love America and all things health and wellness! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the CUTEservative Facebook Group!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to ‘Culture Apothecary’ on ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠. New episodes drop 6pm PST/ 9pm EST every Monday and Thursday.This show is made possible with generous donations from listeners who believe in our mission to heal a sick culture. You can support our show by leaving a tax deductible donation, or by subscribing to ⁠⁠⁠@RealAlexClark⁠⁠⁠ YouTube for FREE! ⁠⁠⁠donate.tpusa.com⁠⁠#cultureapothecary #alexclark #podcast #health #women

Wait, I'm sorry. Organic grape juice is responsible you think for causing your four-year-old's ovarian cyst? It is. I'll just say the company is not as honest as I had thought. I sat down with everything that we used. What did you find out? The things that have ensued have been catastrophic for our family. Even though it's marketed as natural, there's no definition of natural from the FDA.

So hydroxyappetite is not better than fluoride? I actually think it's as detrimental as for it. Why would the whole holistic community adopt an ingredient so quickly? It felt very strange to me. It felt very calculated like this ingredient was being served up to the holistic community, the people that don't like fluoride. Why? Nano hydroxyuptide.

So everyone in the holistic community is like, no, not nanosenscream, but we're using it in a toothpaste. So for me, that was a hard no. Why the name Zebra? With Zebra, we did ingredients that are black and white because we don't want to trick anyone. Our goal is to be completely transparent and open and everything that we do. She was a mom desperate for answers after her four-year-old daughter developed an ovarian cyst and her son was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Were dirty household and personal care products to blame? Some products labeled natural weren't all that natural. And as a parent to sick

children, she wanted to change that. Jen Thatcher is the founder of Zebra. USA-made non-toxic personal and home care products with ingredients that are black and white. She's going to answer some questions like why hydroxy appetite isn't much better than fluoride if seed oils should be avoided in personal care products, the problem with most floss on the market, and a how-to guide on switching to natural deodorant. Watch this episode on the real Alex Clark YouTube or Culture Apothecary on Spotify. We need five-star reviews supporting the show. Please pause right now. Leave one so you don't forget. If you want extra credit, consider becoming a regular financial supporter of the show for any amount by clicking the link in the show notes. Tax deductible.

Culture Apothecary is completely donor funded, so if you like the show and you want it to stick around, consider funding the mission to heal a sick culture. Don't forget that brand new merch is available now at TPSAmerch.com with code Alex Clark for 10% off. Please welcome the founder of Zebra, Jen Thatcher, to Culture Apothecary. What dangers are lurking in our household cleaning supplies? So many hidden chemicals and dangers in household supplies and personal care. But cleaning supplies in general have things like fragrance that people are inhaling and it's all over their house, which can cause lung cancer. There's endocrine disruptors.

There's things that cause oxidative stress to the body. So these products are just all over our homes and all over our bodies and assaulting us every day. I think it's interesting. There's so many places that have fragrance that we don't even think. about because I'm thinking candles, your body washes of course, perfumes of course, and then like plug in air fresheners and stuff. What do you think about people that hang those air fresheners in their car? Would you ever do that? I would not ever do that. And my son has done that in

the past and it drives me crazy because you're literally breathing that in like every second of every day. But also like you said, perfumes, colognes, that's another one. They're actually, they get stuck on your clothes because a fragrance molecule is bound to fibers with plastic. So in order for it to stay on your clothes, so think laundry detergent that's scented. The reason that that scent never gets washed out of your clothing is because it's bound with a tiny piece of microplastic into the fibers of your clothing. And then you're breathing that in. I didn't even know that. And you're right. that there are so many plastics in our clothes. We learn that about Lulu Lemon leggings. A lot of our athletic wear, probably what I'm wearing honestly right now, a lot of our athletic wear type of clothes

is filled with microplastics. Right. So the laundry detergent too also has petrochemicals. You know, it's, so if you find a truly natural laundry detergent, it's not going to make your clothes smell like a fragrance. So we're currently developing a laundry detergent, but it's been kind of of a journey because, you know, people want that smell afterwards, but the smell that we have is very light because it's from essential oils and we don't have any chemicals in it that are endocrine disruptors. And we also don't have anything in there that's going to harm or disrupt the waterways because that's another big one. You know, people are pouring this laundry detergent into their laundry every day, but then where does it go after? It's going into our water supply.

Yes. So again, you're drinking, you know, these fragrances and microplastics. Um, in the water spy. Exactly. Have you always been an entrepreneur? Yes. I think I started, you know, really young, but then I was a stay-at-home mom for a long time. And then I worked as a regional vice president for a Wall Street firm. And then when I married my husband, we were both traveling a lot. And I had to figure out what I was going to do to still keep working because I love to work, but be home and be there for my kids. So I just became an artist accidentally. and grew a worldwide art brand. Whoa.

Oh, okay. Well, then you're like a real artist because I was telling you off camera. I was like, I have a lot of dark art in my house. I have all this weird stuff. And you're like, oh, you would hate my stuff. And I thought you were talking about like, you know, stuff from home goods. You're like the real deal. Oh, yeah.

You would be like a real art critic. Yeah, it's been amazing. It was totally unexpected. And I grew this art brand worldwide. We have a wallpaper line that's in Japan and Dubai. and I ship art to Egypt. I love wallpaper, Jen. So I have wallpaper all over my apartment.

It's like peel and stick because I'm renting, so I can't have like permanent wallpaper. But I love dark, moody, floral wallpapers. And I've been telling everybody, wallpaper is like the thing right now in interior design. It's coming back. For sure. Yeah.

Because it was just paint. It was paint for a while. Definitely. Okay, I love that. And how many kids do you have? I have three. Okay. And what are their ages?

So Jack is 20. Olivia is 23 and then my youngest K is 11. When did you start noticing that there was something not right with your son? It was actually before my son. It was my youngest when she was four, she started complaining of stomach pain. And I kept taking her to the doctor and it wasn't just regular stomach pain like a stomachache. It was she was actually losing consciousness from the pain. So I brought her to the ER.

They said, oh, it's not her appendix. It must be viral. Brought her again to the ER. So this went on for days. Ultimately, on our last trip to the ER, they said, we're really sorry. We just realized that she has an ovarian cyst that's as big as her ovary. And so they rushed her into emergency surgery. And when they called me with the pathology reports, they said, this was just so unusual.

We've searched the medical journals. We cannot find another child that was four years old that had this happen. That is shocking at four years old. So the closest age range to this particular thing, happening ovarian torsion, which means her ovary was twisting like a sponge. It's incredibly painful because the weight of this cyst was so large. It was causing her ovary to do that. 13 years old, closest age range in the medical journals to have this. And so I went home and I said, this is so weird. I've always tried to be holistic and natural with all my products. How can it

be that my child is the only one this ever happened to? And so I started looking for the things that we use and consume every day. And what I came upon is the grape juice, the organic grape juice that she was drinking. Wait, I'm sorry, organic grape juice is responsible you think for causing your four-year-old's ovarian cysts? I believe so. Why? The lawsuit, but there was a current lawsuit pending for this company for having an endocrine hormone disruptor in the juice. Stop. And is this juice on the market today? It is. Are you like able to say what it is or no because of legal stuff? I'll just say the company is not as honest as I had thought. And that is all I will say.

The lawsuit has now been scrubbed from the internet. And that's because what? Their company, they're scrubbing it so moms don't know? I'm not sure. Maybe it's been taken care of. But for me, that was just a really interesting thing that my daughter had been consuming for years that fit why she would have an ovarian cyst. because that's a hormonal thing that normally happens.

Jen, I had no idea about this grape juice. Yes. So then six months later was when my son, he had been having migraines for a while and I'd been taking him to the neurologist, but it started amping up and he was having really weird episodes at school. And so he started texting me from school today, mom, mom, mom, mom. One day it was mama, mom, mom, and I'm like, what's going on? And he had lost vision.

he had lost motor function in his arms. He was slurring his speech. It was almost like he had a stroke at school. So when he finally kind of got out of that, he was able to text me. I ran to school. I picked him up and I said, buddy, I know that we have got this diagnosed. You've got migraines. But we're just going to go to the ER and get all the imaging done just to check that off the list. It's going to be fine. And so 13 hours at the ER and they came back and said he had a mass on his brain. Was he drinking the grape juice? He was not. A new vegetable obsession has entered the villa. That was my best attempt at a British accent. Satayed spinach. I did not grow up eating this. Guys, I am obsessed. A small amount of olive oil, medium heat, garlic, salt and pepper. That's it.

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Code Clark, Good Ranchers, American Meat delivered. You know what I just learned? If you're constantly craving salt, you might have a potassium deficiency. Also, maybe you just really love Masa chips. Would not be surprising. Masa chips are the number one best tasting and best textured seed oil-free tortilla chips on the market. Yep, way better tasting than the other guys. Yes, those other guys. Here's what I love about Mossa chips. They are thick. Perfect thickness of a tortilla chip for, scooping, they're not breaking in half in the dip. They're the perfect amount of crunchy. It's as if they were made in a lab. They're so perfect, except far from it. Of course, no labs. Only three ingredients. They're real food. Beef tallow, organic corn and real salt. Made by a young family with one mission, taking on big food, one chip at a time. But since it is a small business and just a young family running it, Masa chips are definitely a little pricier. Taste-wise, worth it if you can swing it. ease the cost, you can get 20% off with code real Alex Clark on your first purchase at

Masa Chips.com. That's code real Alex Clark for 20% off at Masa Chips.com. They've got original Cabanero, which is basically like acety oil-free Doritos, a lime flavor, cinnamon sugar, and more. And that cinnamon sugar is my new favorite one. The best tasting beef tallow chips are Masa chips. What did doctors end up saying? They say, there's a mass on his brain. Did they have any ideas of what caused that? They had no ideas. They said it's in a really weird spot and it doesn't make sense for why it would be causing these symptoms. And so we flew around to different neurosurgeons throughout the country. Some said do the surgery. Some said don't do the surgery. Some said he'll be a vegetable after. Some said, we don't know. We don't know if it's cancer. We don't

know what it is. What was your theory about what was going on? We didn't know, but we did think that the symptoms he was having were obviously caused by the brain tumor. So we decided to do the surgery. And while he was on the surgery table, the surgeon came out and said, I need to run upstairs. and do some more research. So he was literally having the surgery. Were you like, why didn't you do that before? Well, I just was like, okay, but he's just never seen it before. So afterward, he came and he said, this was very rare. This was one of 24 that I can find of reported brain tumors in this location. Where you guys were living? You're in Texas, right? This all happened in Texas. I mean, were you guys living near a 5G tower? Was there anything in your

environment that was contributing to this illness in your kids? I couldn't think of anything. And people that have known me for my whole life have known that organic food and natural products were always something that were so top of mind to me. Even when my oldest daughter was a baby and we struggled financially, I put things way ahead like organic food of paying other bills. Right, right, right. We went without so that we could provide so that I could provide the natural better things for my children. So people that knew me were just like, how does this happen to you? And I just didn't know. And how did that make you feel knowing I felt like I was doing everything right as a mom?

It made me feel terrible. So after the brain surgery, I sat down with everything that we used. Products that we used every day that I was paying top dollar for, I thought were good. But I still wanted to just go through the ingredients, ingredient by ingredient. and make sure that they were what I thought they were. And what I discovered was they weren't. What did you find out? So I was using a hydroxyaptite toothpaste at the time

and, you know, deodorant that I thought was natural. I found out the deodorant had baking soda in it that was chemically mined from the earth. So they extract the baking soda with chemicals and fragrance, which is a hormone disruptor, even though it's marketed as natural, there's no definition of natural from the FDA. I didn't know that either. So they have not defined it.

So really anyone can slap that on there and it's up to a consumer to challenge that. So with zebra, we did ingredients that are black and white because we don't want to trick anyone. Our goal is to be completely transparent and open and everything that we do. But the toothpaste bothered me. I thought hydroxyoptite was like the hero. superstar ingredient at the time. And then it also had sorbitol in it, which is not a natural sweetener. And then it had propane dial, which is a propylene glycol derivative, which I was like, that's really not natural. Sometimes that can be derived from GMO corn. So I was like,

this is just not what I thought it was. And so it was at that moment that I started searching for products that really, really were effective, but as clean as I wanted them to be. And how many were on the market? I just, I couldn't really find anything that I felt like met my standards. I wanted something that was effective, that was clean. And I also like cute packaging. I'm kind of a packaging snob. So I feel like a lot of the stuff that's out there, if it's clean, it's kind of uninspired and boring. And, you know, I was like, I want something that. makes people happy when they look at it. People want to sit on their bathroom counter.

And so it was at that moment that zebra was born because I was like, it shouldn't have to be as hard. You know, people shouldn't be getting sick from their products. And you shouldn't have to have a chemistry degree. And you shouldn't have to read all these labels and do all this research. And I had to do all this research just to figure out that these products I was buying were not good for my family. What ended up happening with your son's tumor?

So he had the brain surgery. and it's been a long road after the brain surgery. The things that have ensued have been catastrophic for our family. So it's been a hard journey that is really a long story, but my son has never been the same. And so it is truly my desire, you know, with Zebra to A, keep myself busy and not think about that every day. but also to make sure that people's products never cause a family to walk the road that we've had to walk. What did you discover about toxins in floss? So most floss that sold in America is made in China and has PFOS in it.

What is PFOS? So the forever chemical that used to be on the nonstick pans that stays in your bloodstream forever and is responsible for a whole host of, you know, disease and side effects. So if you are listening and you are one of these families who just recently threw out all of your non-stick pans because you understand the Teflon danger and the Forever Chemical Danger, but you are still using traditional floss that you find at Target, you may still be putting Forever chemicals directly into your family's bloodstream. Directly into their bloodstream.

And then there's other natural flosses out there that are. Phephos-free, but most of them are made from recycled water bottles into a polyester filament, which is so interesting to me because it's like, that's great that it's P-Fos-free, but you're putting plastic directly into your bloodstream still. So. And so what is the floss that you guys have? How did you decide to create floss that would be different? So our floss is manufactured in Italy. There was no plant in America that makes floss that would meet our standard. So every product at Zebra is made in the USA except the floss. And it's Italy, which is just, you know, it's fancy.

We felt fine about Italy. It's fashion week floss. Yes, exactly. So we used a silk filament to make sure that it was not plastic. And then another funny thing that I discovered while I was developing this floss is that a lot of times the vegan wax or the microchristylene wax is petroleum. derived. So they can call it vegan wax and you think it's from a vegetable, but it's actually petroleum. And what would petroleum potentially do to the body? Well, your body can't absorb that. So it just, it just negatively affects the body in a whole bunch of ways. We don't want to be

consuming petroleum. What do Sally Fallon Morel, Will Harris from White Oak Pastures, Zen Honeycutt, and Congressman Thomas Massey all have in common? They're a handful. They're a handful of of many speakers at the upcoming Wise Traditions Conference in Orlando, Florida, October 25th through 27th. You will be surrounded by like-minded people, like me, because I'm going, from across the country committed to learning about an ancestral diet and way of living to get back to our roots. You're going to hear topics on everything from homesteading to germ theory and raw milk and how to find it near you. That's a question I get asked every day. You're also going to have an additional option on your ticket where you can add on Weston A Price approved home-cooked meals daily to your ticket if you want,

which I am absolutely doing. I heard there's going to be a raw milk toast. I am there like you wouldn't believe. I love the Weston A Price Foundation. You're going to go to wise traditions.org. Use code Alex for $25 off your ticket to attend the Wise Traditions Conference, October 25th through 27th in Orlando. I'm going to be there, the Labrata Gore and many, many, many more pioneers in the health and real food movement. It's wise traditions.org, code Alex for $25 off.

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Y-ReFi.com. That's Y-R-E-F-Y-F-Y-F-E-F-Y. That's Y-R-E-F-Y-F-E-E-F-E-E-E-E-E-E-F-Y. If private student loan debt is wrecking your life, it doesn't have to, okay, take it from me. WhyRify at 888502-2612 or go to wirefie.com may not be available in all states. A lot of people think that if they shop non-toxic in all of their personal care products, they won't work as well as the ones with chemicals. Would you say that that's true? It is a struggle. And so that was top of mind for me because I want products that perform.

So our formulas took two years to develop. And I wanted really, really healthy products that actually work. Because if you're going to pay the extra money for the great ingredients, you want products that do perform. How did you source the ingredients for your deodorant? So that's a funny story. We actually got fired by a manufacturer in the process of creating the deodorant because I was being such a pain with the ingredients.

and they're not used to brands who are willing to pay double for the ingredients. They're not used to brands who want to source out outside of China. So I said for my deodorant and my toothpaste, we're not using ingredients from China. We're just not doing it. Because there's not much oversight over there. And ingredients from China are typically known to have higher heavy metals or they're just adulterated. They're not what they say they are. So like, you know, your last guest with Just Ingredients was saying,

turmeric powder, that is absolutely true. They will send you something that is either kind of the ingredient or they throw in a little extra and that makes them more money. So I was like, we're just, we're not doing that. So my first deodorant manufacturer did not want to perform the testing and uphold the standards that we have for our deodorant. So I was like, I want you to, you know, email and set up a vendor. account with this little farmer in France for these essential oils. And they were like, we're not doing that, you know. So were you able to find somebody that was willing? Yes. Okay, great. And so what is different about your non-toxic deodorant compared to other non-toxic

deodorants out there? Well, a lot of the non-toxic deodorants are still using fragrance, which is an endocrine disruptor. We're using essential oils that are beautifully sourced. And we're also using natural baking soda in two of our formulas. So we're mining that from the earth with water versus chemicals. And then we have two formulas that don't have baking soda at all because some people are sensitive to baking soda. So for those, we're using arrowroot powder. So it's very gentle but still really effective. What is the best way for somebody to transition from standard deodorant to a non-toxic one? Because I think that is one of the hardest transitions to make because it is a little bit different. It is hard. And what people don't

realize is the diet is super important in that. Really? Wait, I don't know that. So what you're eating can affect how well you transition from a toxic deodorant to a non-toxic one? Absolutely, because everything we take in is, you know, going into our lymphatic system, so to speak, right? So all the toxins, all the heavy metals, and they're coming out under the arms or through the lymphatic system through sweat. So if you're eating unclean, you're going to, you're going to, you're going to, to smell bad. Like, the diet is the most important thing. So you have to have a clean diet in order for a natural deodorant to do its best work. Are we supposed to be at least a little bit damp? Yes, your body is supposed to sweat. You definitely don't want any deodorant. No natural deodorant

will stop you from sweating. So that's a super important process that God created for us to detox. You know, we're pushing those toxins out of our body. So we want to be able to do that. So when you are wearing a deodorant that doesn't allow you to sweat at all, basically, the toxins are just trapped in your body. Absolutely. So the people that are transitioning from a deodorant like, or an antiperspirant like that to a natural deodorant are going to have a long road because they probably have years and years of built up toxins in their lymphatic system that need to come out. So we had one customer that said, your deodorant doesn't work. I used it for two days and I still stink. And it's like, okay, well, what were you? before this, probably, you know, an unnatural deodorant for 30 years. So you've got a little bit of a

detox period before it's going to perform the way it should. What is the difference between your toothpaste and your tooth tablets? They're a different experience. I love them. So toothpaste is just for people who want the traditional toothpaste. It's easy for little kids to use, kids that don't have molars to chew the tablets. The toothpaste is great for. I personally love the tablets. That's what I use. I don't know. There's just something about them that makes them feel convenient. So I just like pop them in my purse. They feel easy for travel. Hold on a minute. You don't have to like use a toothbrush. It's something you eat. So I have customers who actually eat them like a breathment every now and again. So you can do that. But you can take it and just run it under water,

get it a little bit wet. You put in your mouth. You chew it up. It turns into it. into a paste, like a toothpaste, and you just brush with it. I don't know why it's a different experience, but they taste amazing and they work amazing. I like your toothpaste. You have a mint one and you have a coconut one. Yes. And I like that because sometimes kids, you know, don't want like a super minty toothpaste. Yeah, they don't want the spicy. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, exactly. Yep. Why the name zebra? God gave me the name zebra, honestly. He woke me up in the middle of the night in a dream and said zebra ingredients that are black and white. And I thought about it.

And I was like, yes, like the Constitution in the Bible. So we are very forward in our brand values about loving God and loving America. And so zebra, you know, they're wild animals. They don't trust the system. They want to be left alone. They don't look like anything else in the animal kingdom. And so I feel like we're this brand that. it's doing it differently. We don't look or function like any of the other animals in the space.

You mentioned the Constitution, the Bible. You have this written on your website that you live by the Constitution in the Bible. Why get political? Why get religious? Most small business owners would opt out of making a statement like that. A lot of reasons. First of all, that's who I am as a person. I'm not afraid to stand up when I feel something needs to be said. I do believe that you know, the Constitution shouldn't be political. Some people think it is now. So I think if you believe in the Constitution, it automatically, you know, associates you with one side, which I think is really sad. I think everyone in America should associate with the Constitution. I don't think that should be a political stance. As far as standing for Christ, like that's something that, you know, we will never

be ashamed of. And I wish more brands would do that because I think there's a lot of people who don't want to support companies that are supporting demonic agendas. And so we wanted to be very forward to let people know that if they want a brand that's truly non-toxic and effective and supports the things that they believe in, here we are. What is something about chemicals or toxins and personal care products that would blow our minds? I would say hydroxy appetite is what blew my mind. So when I first started developing zebra, I was developing a hydroxy appetite toothpaste because it is is the favorite ingredient of the holistic space and everyone thinks it's wonderful. So we were in R&D for that and I had placed a purchase order for our perfect hydroxy

appetite toothpaste that we developed. And the more I researched while I was doing that, the more I felt like it is not the ingredient that everyone thinks it is. So hydroxyapitite is not better than fluoride? I don't think so. I actually think it's as detrimental is fluoride. Stop. Yes. That's a hot take. Why? So there's microhydroxy appetite and nanohydroxy aptite. So we'll start with nano. So if you're using a sunscreen, everyone knows you don't want to use a nano sunscreen, right? Because nanotechnology goes, you know, directly in your bloodstream and can get into your cells and do all sorts of things. So why would we want to use that in a toothpaste? Like we're putting that directly into our bloodstream. Okay. There's a nano-hydroxy appetite. So everyone in the holistic

community is like, no, non-nanoscreen, but we're using it in a toothpaste. So for me, that was a hard no. So then there's the other microhydroxy appetite, which is a bigger molecule. But studies have shown that that micro can't actually remineralize the teeth. In x-rays, it looks like it's remineralizing the teeth. So you're getting all these. these x-rays coming back, people saying, I healed my cavities. My teeth are better than ever. But it's actually a superficial coating that they're putting on the teeth. It's like the birth control of toothpaste. It is crazy. And so the amount of DMs that we get every day saying, oh my goodness, I've been using hydroxyapatide for two years. I have a hole in my tooth. Oh my goodness. I just took my kid to

the dentist and they have 12 cavities. And all I can think of is we've been using hydroxy appetite for two years. So there are so many people starting to see the effects of this that they thought that they were actually healing their teeth, but it's just a superficial coating they're putting on the tooth. So what are you guys using instead then? First of all, we believe that remineralizing first starts with the diet. So you need to make sure you're getting the proper minerals in your diet. But for us, we're using xylitol. And a lot of people have said, oh, xylitol, there was a study that came out where xylitol, you know, can have negative health effects. But that study, people were drinking 30 grams of xylotol in one sitting. Yeah, that might do it. You know, so. Hey, you can eat also

have like overconsumption of water. Right. You have to take these studies in context. So xylitol is one of the most proven ingredients in oral care. It's been studied for 60 years. And what it does is it starves the bacteria. So the xylitol is one of our first ingredients. And we sourced that from Europe versus the other companies that are sourcing xalotol, usually from China. So we have the cleanest Zalotol available. And it starves the bacteria. So it's literally stopping the formation of plaque, like right then and there at the very beginning. And then we also have calcium carbonate, which is a mineral that helps to remineralize. But I was using just some non-toxic toothpaste from whole foods. It was hydroxy apatite. Hydroxy. It was hydroxy appetite. And I was getting like little

gray spots on my teeth in between my teeth. And I was like, the only thing that I have changed is switching, you know, from like typical crest, whatever, to this non-toxic one. And now I'm getting these gray spots. Then I tried zebra. Gray spots went away. Have had zero issues. I do absolutely prefer your toothpaste to whatever I was trying at Whole Foods. It just was not, something was weird. So it must be that ingredient. Something is off. And I just had this intuition that I, You know, why would the whole holistic community adopt an ingredient so quickly? It just felt, it felt very strange to me. It felt very calculated like this ingredient was being served up to the holistic community, the people that don't like fluoride. Why? I don't know. It just didn't feel right. And so the more that we interact with our customers, in fact, on one of your posts, the Will Whit post, someone said, my tooth turned black. And we're getting messages. like that a lot from people who are saying my teeth are turning colors. I have a black tooth. I have a hole in my tooth. You know, whatever it is, I have a yellow spot on my tooth. And they're all

people who have been using hydroxy appetite for a good amount of time. If somebody wanted to try zebra, which product do you think they should try first? I don't know. I guess it depends on what they're currently using and experiencing with their products. I think our deodorant is amazing. It is amazing. The smell of our deodorant just smells to me like a day at the spa. Like I don't, I haven't found another deodorant on the market that I feel like the scent is, it's good. Our toothpaste tablets are really unique. They're a fun experience.

We actually have a lot of customers that message us and say, you know, I used to have to ask my kids to brush their teeth. And now they come to me and ask if they can brush their teeth because they love the tablet experience. Any hints on upcoming items? So we are hoping to just create a line of products that people can truly trust. So we want to venture into everything people use every day. So I would say maybe expect like a really glossy lip gloss. Oh, makeup stuff? Maybe a little skincare.

Cool. Desperately need that, Jen. I desperately need it. it to me first. I'll be your getting pig. I actually brought a sample for you today to try so you know your audience now. Oh, good. Yes. Thank you. Okay, cool. Yeah. So we, it's, it's tough. The laundry is tough. We want, you know, something that performs. But again, it's, it's harder to get the performance and stay really clean. If you had one remedy to heal us at culture, what would it be? That's easy. It's Jesus. If we all, you know, lived our lives the way the Bible tells us to live our

lives, we would eat better. We would treat our neighbors with love and kindness. If we woke up every day looking to serve God instead of serving ourselves, this world would not be sick. But we are. And so we need to, you know, wake up every day with a kingdom purpose knowing that this world is not our home, that heaven is our home. And we need to just treat each other the way Jesus would want us to treat people. I absolutely love everything that you've built. I think your products are phenomenal. I actually had a friend of mine send them to me just like organically saying, hey, this is like a cool brand. I think you would like it. Just that. Like I should just try it as a consumer and I was obsessed. I mean, as soon as I looked at the ingredients, the mission by the brand, that it was conservative Christian own, everything. I was like, this brand has got to be a part of culture apothecary. Like you are a perfect fit for me. for my audience. I love it. I know my audience that has started trying your stuff, they are loving it. I've heard zero complaints. So it really is the best. If somebody wants to try it, where can they go to shop? Yayzebra.com. Yayzebra.com, which I love that. That's so

Alex to have that in there. And what is your Instagram? It is zebra.orgia. Okay, zebra.orgia on Instagram. Jen, thank you so much for coming on Culture Apothecary. Thank you. It was an honor. So happy to be here. I loved how this episode was so jam-packed with amazing info and short and sweet. You can get a discount on your zebra order by using code Alex for 10% off at yayzebra.com. New episodes come out every Monday and Thursday night at 6 p.m. Pacific, 9 p.m. Eastern, anywhere you get your podcast and the real Alex Clark YouTube. We're on a mission to heal a sick culture, physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Please leave a five-star review. If you love the show, tell me how long you've been a listener. I'm Alex Clark, and this is Culture Apothecary. Thank you.