On a mission to be the most effective natural beauty brand in the world, Three Ships is not a brand that compromises. Nowadays, there are tons of “natural” or “clean” beauty brands on the market. But those words have become buzzwords that can mean a lot of things. For Three Ships Beauty, they mean 100% transparency from start to finish. At the core of Three Ships' mission is their dedication to transparency in your skincare routine. They achieve this by using Source Maps on every product page, giving you detailed information about each ingredient's origin, from the farm to the shelf. Additionally, the brand provides a comprehensive Ingredient Glossary on their website, enabling customers to learn more about the sustainability of each component. We spoke with Laura Burget, one of the two founders of Three Ships, about the brand's inception, transparency efforts, and overall DNA.
Can you tell us about the inspiration behind starting Three Ships Beauty?
Connie and I started Three Ships because of our own frustrations with the natural skincare industry. Frankly, we were tired of being ripped off and lied to by overpriced and green-washed brands. Finding a product that was effective, actually natural, and affordable seemed like the unattainable holy grail that we knew had to be possible. This is what led to the motivation to start Three Ships which launched on the market in July 2020.
Could you explain the concept of Source Maps on your product pages and how they provide consumers with detailed information about each ingredient?
This is a program that we are super proud of! The SourceMaps on our product page allow consumers to view the entire journey of every single ingredient that goes into their product, right down to the country and sometimes even the farm that it was grown in. Consumers can then trace this all back to where the raw ingredients were refined and finally back to our facility in Toronto, where they are manufactured and shipped! We felt that this was necessary information to share with our audience to show that we truly embody our value of transparency. We want customers to feel that they have all of the information that they need to make the decision of what skincare products/ingredients are right for them, and supply chain transparency is a core tenant of that. It's a painstaking process for a brand to undertake, requiring 100s of hours of research and due diligence — but we feel it's worth it.
How does your brand ensure the safety and efficacy of your products while adhering to strict ingredients standards?
First, it comes down to the research that you do on your actives/other raw materials before even kicking off a new formulation in the lab. We carefully vet each active and will only include actives in our new developments that have clinical testing done by the supplier already, as well as checking to ensure that the raw material meets our list of restricted ingredients. Next, at the end of development, we perform a variety of tests to ensure product safety, many of which are not requirements for products to undergo - this includes PET, stability/micro testing, and compatibility testing to make sure that the product is safe at the shelf. We also perform HRIPT (Human Repeat Insult Patch Testing), which is a test done in a clinical setting that looks for reactions/irritation due to a skincare product from a panel of participants. This is an expensive and time-consuming step, but we viewed it as being worthwhile as many of our consumers have sensitive skin. Finally, before going into production, we run a two-week consumer perception study across 50+ participants to ensure that the product is delivering the results that we expected and that we aren't seeing any adverse reactions (like redness, breakouts, etc). Our product development cycle is close to 12 months because of all of these steps, but it's an important part of making sure that we develop world-class products.
If you had to describe your brand in three words, what would it be?
Transparent, Welcoming, and Down-to-Earth.
If you had to give 1 tip to a teenager starting their skincare journey, what would it be?
Don't use super-drying acne cleansers that have drying alcohols in them. I remember I used Oxy-Pads when I was a teen (similar to many other millennials), and it totally destroyed my moisture barrier, which then led to dry skin and even more breakouts. Find a gentle daily cleanser, wear an SPF each morning, and understand that everyone gets breakouts! It's nothing to be embarrassed about.
How do you want your customers to feel, both physically and mentally, when using your products? In other words, how do your products impact the overall well-being of consumers?
Confidence would be the number one feeling that we want all of our consumers to feel. Both confident in their choice of product/brand — knowing that they are using products that are free from ingredients they might be looking to avoid and supporting a brand that cares deeply about doing the right thing/the environment. And also confident in their skin! The highlight of each day for me is seeing reviews come in where customers gush about how Three Ships has transformed their skin and allows them to go foundation free without feeling self-conscious. That's really the reason that we do all of this - to give our consumers a product that delivers the results and values that they're looking for.
Could you share any plans or goals for the brand’s future growth and expansion?
We have around a dozen products in active development right now, which I'm really excited about, including some product categories that we have gaps in/I feel don't have any quality natural options available. Other than that, our goal is to keep growing at a steady 100% YoY, as we've been doing for the last while, and to continue to grow sales velocities in our existing retail doors, such as Whole Foods, which we launched nationwide earlier this year.
Keep up with Three Ships on their Instagram @threeshipsbeauty. Explore all of their products on their webstore.