We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Anastasia Visotsky. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Anastasia below.

Anastasia, appreciate you joining us today. The first dollar your business earns is always special and we’d love to hear how your brand made its first dollar of revenue.

After I fought my recurrent UTIs I started a blog called StopUTIForever, where I interviewed researchers and doctors about chronic UTI treatment and prevention. Through interactions with readers, I realized that many over-clean themselves by trying to kill bacteria with soaps and antibacterial products. So I offered them to try zerotaboos microbiome-friendly products to support their beneficial bacteria and prevent the growth of opportunistic bacteria.
Thus, the first zerotaboos clients were my blog readers.

Anastasia, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m Anastasia Visotsky, founder of stoputiforever.com and zerotaboos – microbiome-friendly personal care. I have helped my customers support their healthy skin microbiome since 2019.

What led me to start my brand? I suffered from recurrent UTIs, which my physician offered to fight with the regular use of antibiotics. But I decided to look for an alternative solution and this is when I found out that restoring a healthy vaginal microbiome was the key to my recovery.
This is when I realized there wasn’t a perfect product on the market to protect our good bacteria. So I decided to make exclusive products formulated with a healthy skin microbiome in mind.

I worked with an experienced formulating chemist to combine effective ingredients in a line of products that support our natural flora instead of wiping it out.
We use a unique blend of prebiotics and postbiotics, gentle acids, and natural preservatives. We do not include ingredients such as glycerin, parabens, and strong surfactants that could adversely impact your skin microbiome.

There are 4 main products now, and I work on new exciting ideas.

One of the bestsellers is prebiotic WASH. It protects a healthy microbiome, supports acidic pH, and fights opportunistic microorganisms, preventing body odor and infections. WASH is designed for the intimate area but can be used anywhere on the body, instead of regular soap. Folks prone to UTIs and yeast infections find it especially beneficial for intimate care.

Another product my customers enjoy is WipeGel. It turns toilet paper into prebiotic wet wipes. I was planning to make wet wipes first, but after research, I realized that the formulation would have way too many chemicals. And the regular use of wet wipes is not beneficial for the skin microbiome and can cause allergic reactions and chaffing. So I made WipeGel instead. It has prebiotics, postbiotics, and 30% of witch hazel among the ingredients, which helps to soothe and clean genital and perianal skin, supporting a healthy skin microbiome.

SALVE with natural vitamin E and gorgonian extract supports healthy and moisturized perineal skin. Customers often use it instead of topical estrogen. Only 20%–25% of women prefer hormonal treatment during and after menopause. The rest are looking for a natural solution, so SALVE is a perfect alternative to topical estrogen.

My latest product, CREAM, is an alternative to conventional deodorants. During the pandemic, I decided to go deodorant-free and created CREAM, which was a great help on this journey. It makes sweat odorless, smoothes the skin, and prevents ingrown hair. CREAM is great for the underarms, groin, feet, and chest. There are AHA and BHA acids in it, which allows the product to gently acidify and exfoliate the skin.

In my blog https://www.zerotaboos.com/blog/ I share useful tips about skin microbiome. For example, did you know that the more products you use in the shower, the more body odor you have?
Or did you know that a simple thing like toilet paper has chemicals in it?
I love finding solutions to microbiome-related problems.

We’d love to hear your thoughts about selling platforms like Amazon/Etsy vs selling on your own site.

We sell both on my website and Amazon.

Amazon has its own audience, customers are used to using this channel and it’s the most convenient way for them since they do not, typically, pay for shipping. And nothing can beat the fast turnaround that FBA provides. But, we are removed from our customers who shop on amazon: we do not control how the product is stored, what happens to returns, how the product is handled, packaged to be shipped. On top of it, we can’t reach out to our shoppers directly or solve a problem if there is one unless they choose to talk to us.
Customers ordering from my website have more benefits and I feel that we are able to provide them with better service. We make sure to provide regular special offers for those ordering directly from zerotaboos.com.
Selling direct allows for more flexibility and experimentation. Selling through Amazon provides access to millions of daily shoppers. Both channels have their challenges but what’s most important is to not keep your eggs in one basket.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

First of all, my cell phone number is on every label. We do not get that many calls or texts, so I personally reply to a few that we receive and I’m always happy to connect. I carefully read customers’ reviews to improve their experience and their feedback motivates me. We are also quick to act whenever we learn that something could be improved and I think our customers see and value that.
Beyond offering products and exceptional customer support we also invest in content. Often, our customers are surprised to learn that there is more than one way to use our products or they learn something new from us. This helps us build trusting relationships.
For example, on our blog, we share helpful tips on how to prevent body odor https://www.zerotaboos.com/deodorants-dont-work/; how to take care of your perineal and perianal area https://www.zerotaboos.com/feminine-wet-wipes/; recommendations for those suffering from hemorrhoids and fissures https://www.zerotaboos.com/toilet-paper-and-hemorrhoids/, menopausal symptoms https://www.zerotaboos.com/vitamin-e/, stubborn body odor and sebum odor https://www.zerotaboos.com/smell-after-shower/; ways to avoid over-cleaning and keep your microbiome healthy overall https://www.zerotaboos.com/can-you-be-too-clean/.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.zerotaboos.com/, https://www.stoputiforever.com/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZOrj3dolozcgsnNnItlNOg