Get to Know The Dirt Founder, Shannon Drake!

Want to know what The Dirt Founder, Shannon Drake's oral care routine looks like? What her favorite Dirt product is? Or perhaps the most burning question... is she a cinnamon or mint person? Check out this Q & A to learn more about our Founder!

1. What inspired you to create The Dirt?

I first became interested in health after my dad was diagnosed with cancer when I was 15. I realized how the things we put in and on our body affect health. I started making my own personal care products in high school. Later in college, I was exposed to the “paleo diet” during a biological anthropology class. It was eye opening to me. I had previously realized that our actions affect our health, but learning the connection between the physical design of our body and what we should eat and put on our skin blew my mind. The way I approached my whole life changed and I was on a mission to make everything I consumed as natural and biologically appropriate as possible. I developed our toothpowder based on holistic and biologically appropriate dental health concepts.

Then I met my now fiancé Joe, who was so inspired by the effects of my toothpowder that he talked me into starting a company with him. The Dirt was born! I worked with health professionals to refine the recipe into something we could be proud to sell and knew would help a wide variety of people. We were one of the first companies to bring toothpowder’s back to the main stream and I’m proud to say we’re still one of the highest rated oral care brands on the internet!

2. What does your oral care routine look like on any given day?

My routine may be a little different than most people! Since I’ve been using our Toothpowder for over 6 years, I don’t really have morning breath, so I wait until after breakfast to brush my teeth. I start the day off with with our Super Mint Toothpowder, then scrape my tongue with our Copper Tongue Scraper. I’m NOT a morning person, so I keep it simple in the AM. 

Depending on what I ate for lunch, I may floss but usually don’t. Let’s be real, most people don’t brush or floss midday.

At night I floss. I LOVE flossing and I feel so much better after flossing. It’s kind of an obsession of mine. It makes your breath fresher and reduces the amount of junk living rent free in your mouth. It’s oddly satisfying. I also oil pull with our Rose Clove Mint Oil Pulling Mouthwash every other day. At night, I go a little wild and switch it up between our powder and our paste. My favorite night time powder is definitely Sweet Spice but often times I’m testing out future flavors! I like to test them out at night to see how they perform after a full day of eating and drinking coffee. I can’t talk about the flavors I’m working on, but my favorite “classic’ flavor of paste is Rose Cacao Mint flavor…. After 5 years it’s still my favorite!

3. Are you a mint or cinnamon person?

Do I have to choose? For toothpaste, I love cinnamon! But for breath spray, I like mint. Things like chewing gum I go cinna-mint.

4. If you could only keep one product for the rest of your life, which would it be?

The Toothpowder for sure! It was our second product and it’s my favorite. My next favorite item is our Lip Balm which was our first product ever.

5. What are your biggest aspirations for 2020?

I am looking forward to building out a customer appreciation program. We have incredibly loyal customers and I’ve wanted to reward that for a long time. In 2020 we finally have the bandwidth to create an awesome loyalty rewards program! Keep an eye on your email for details.