Health in Her HUE has partnered with The Honey Pot Co. to empower our community to confidently continue their wellness journeys. This partnership brings together two Black women-founded businesses in support of Black women and women of color, who have historically been overlooked and underserved in the wellness space.

We are thrilled to introduce you to The Honey Pot Co’s co-founder, Bea Dixon, through a conversation with our founder, Ashlee Wisdom. Bea created The Honey Pot Company in 2014 out of great personal need during an eight-month battle with bacterial vaginosis. The constant symptoms and fruitless search for solutions led her to formulate what became The Honey Pot Company’s first product, a vulva-safe wash.

From that product, Beatrice has grown The Honey Pot Company into a plant-derived feminine hygiene powerhouse, intent on providing humans with vaginas a healthy alternative to feminine care made with powerful and efficacious ingredients.

Ashlee and Bea are intentional trailblazers in their respective industries. They are driven by a shared commitment to solving a problem they have personally experienced, ensuring that their community has the resources to face the same challenges.

In this post, Ashlee and Bea explore the importance of this partnership, their personal experiences, and what it means for our communities to reclaim their wellness.

What does the research in the healthcare and vaginal wellness space suggest that our community needs?

Ashlee:  Black women and women of color have lower rates of access to adequate sexual education, and preventative and reproductive health care. The research that we’re seeing calls for increased access and utilization of health services and resources without obstacles like clinician bias. Whether it is sexual wellness or dental hygiene, Health in Her HUE is a trusted source of community, health information, and culturally responsive healthcare providers for Black women and women of color.

Bea: Research has shown that the ritual of care has changed drastically over the past couple of decades, even more so in the past couple of years. To Ashlee’s point – many humans with vaginas weren’t given adequate vaginal and sexual wellness education. At the Honey Pot, we understand that humans need trusted resources and education to help build healthy routines and make the best decisions for their bodies.

The data shows that humans also want better options for menstrual and vaginal care; the Honey Pot Co is the first plant-derived feminine care system on the market. We have been thinking about the lifespan of the vagina throughout one’s lifetime and everything that one’s system would need.

Why is this partnership important?

Bea: This partnership is important because it will offer peer-like support, evidence-based content, and a network of medical professionals to humans who may not feel supported and heard otherwise. The most important thing is the opportunity to share experiences with a community that is safe and informative.

I wish I had a Health in Her HUE when I first started my wellness journey. When I experienced an almost year-long bout of BV, I used to go on forums online looking to share experiences and find information that I couldn’t get from my doctor. I wanted to talk to other humans who were having the same experience, but I was having a hard time finding them. 

Had Health in Her HUE existed 12 years ago, I would have had access to their community forums (humans I could connect with who also were experiencing BV) and I would have had access to medical professionals near me that would provide more solutions.  

Ashlee: Our healthcare system has worked in silos for too long, and we’ve seen the negative impacts of this. To disrupt this and achieve our mission of eliminating health disparities, partnerships like this are essential. This work must be done through community, and partnering with an innovative company like The Honey Pot allows us to broaden our community and positively impact more humans in need of support.  

Together, we commit to providing access, community, and education that caters to the unique needs of humans of color. This starts with a Community Conversation we’re hosting on Wednesday, September 27, 2023. This conversation, ‘Pain, Pleasure, and Power: Owning Your Sexual Wellness,’ will be rooted in providing the information necessary to empower our communities to navigate both pain and pleasure in their sexual wellness journey. 

What do you see as the future of healthcare for humans of color?

Ashlee: The future of healthcare for Black women and women of color and vaginal wellness, to me, is inclusive, equitable, and accessible. It involves breaking down systemic barriers, increasing awareness, and ensuring that Black women and women of color have easy access to comprehensive care and products that prioritize their specific health needs and cater to their life experiences.

Bea: I see a world where humans don’t feel shame around the experiences they are having with their bodies, whether it is BV, fibroids, menopause, or mental health, etc. I see a world where we are all more kind to each other as it relates to each concern, and I see us having the confidence to seek the support that we need and being able to advocate for ourselves.

What has your team learned about the community on this journey?

Bea: We have learned that community is everything. We have learned that we are here to serve humanity. We have learned that we are nothing without the humans that have joined us on this journey. Coming out of the pandemic we have really leaned into showing up in person, having the conversations that need to be had, and loving each other. Because we are all that we have.

Ashlee: Through our journey, we have learned that Black women and women of color are demanding reliable sources for accurate health information, safe spaces for community discussion, products that cater to their diverse experiences, and providers that will take the time to hear their concerns and understand their lived experiences.

What does reclaiming wellness mean to you and your team?

Ashlee: I am reclaiming wellness when I am vulnerable, when I start my day on my Peloton, go for a solo brunch with a book, and when I tap my group chat for a girl’s night. It signifies taking ownership of one’s health journey, whatever that looks like, and demanding the resources and support that have been historically denied to us. For Health in Her HUE, it means empowering Black women and women of color to advocate for their sexual and overall wellness without shame, feel celebrated in their identity, and nurture their bodies with care.

Bea: To me, reclaiming wellness means that at any moment I have the power to give myself whatever I need to be well. If I need to have a nap in between calls, stop what I’m doing to make sure I’m eating a balanced diet, or even spend 5 minutes meditating before starting my day, I make sure I do that. For The Honey Pot, Reclaiming Wellness means that we have the opportunity to start thinking intentionally about our health, and we give ourselves grace while we practice doing so every single day.