Today we’d like to introduce you to Therese Clark.
Hi Therese, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always loved beauty, skincare and wellness. My mom was a labor delivery nurse who worked nights. During the day she was always sleepy and not exactly at her happiest. But when she put on her makeup before she left for work, her mood transformed and she had a sweeter demeanor. Long story short, I worked at the cosmetic counters while getting my business degree at USF in San Francisco. Bobbi Brown herself inspired me to get into product development. I worked in product development for companies in Los Angeles like Hourglass Cosmetics among others. I started my own consultancy at 26 and then started to suffer health issues that affected my body/skin, mind, and spirit. For two years, I was misdiagnosed and it wasn’t until I started seeing an integrative medical expert where I found that my issues were from hypothyroidism. During that intense time, my skin showed the first signs of atrophy, including my intimate skin. I bounced from the drugstore to the doctor’s office and was prescribed steroidal cream that worked in the short term but made my skin more sensitized. I was surprised at the lack of healthy intimate care solutions. And there were almost no “skin care” solutions for down there. I ended up Co-Founding the first medically validated probiotic skincare line in the professional channel where I was going to create better solutions for the entire body, including a category of intimate care products for women. However, that partnership didn’t work. In 2018, I founded and launched Lady Suite starting with plant-based, doctor-approved intimate skincare to support a woman’s daily intimate comfort and sexual confidence.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Definitely not. But it has been worth the pain in order to better serve women because while our intimate areas (vulvas, vaginas) are sources of pleasure, they can also be sources of pain that affect our physical and mental health, and our most intimate relationships.
Some of the struggles have been the fact that Lady Suite is in a stigmatized space and is victim to censorship, lack of education inside and outside of the industry, and raising capital (many early investors I met with questioned if there was truly a problem outside of managing menopause or periods), pandemic and supply chain shortages and rising costs, and the changes in Facebook that are now making it much harder for smaller brands to compete.
We’ve been impressed with Lady Suite, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are an independent, women-owned feminine wellness brand providing plant-based, pro-microbiome products that better solve intimate skin problems from grooming, hormonal changes, lifestyle choices, and biological aging. These problems range from ingrown hairs and dark spots from post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation to vulvar skin dryness, lack of lubrication, itching, and skin atrophy from using the wrong products, shaving, medications, disease, and menopause. As well as unwanted vulvar odor from bacteria build-up and the breakdown of sweat.
I’ve been lucky to have been mentored for the last 15 years by a biochemist and PhD who is on the forefront of microbiome science and is still heavily involved in creating elevated technologies to improve innate immunity, including reversing lung damage from Covid-19. Because of his lab and progressive testing methods outside the typical, we can make skin-compatible, pro-microbiome formulas using ingredients like pre/postbiotics to help support the vulvar skin barrier and pH and better protect against unwanted bacteria by gently stimulating an immune/repair response while minimizing inflammation.
There are a lot of copycats/private label brands out there that simply don’t know the science. I love good marketing too but this is our most absorbent area of the body with the thinnest skin. It requires expertise beyond the typical cosmetic formulator.
I also want people to know their terminology – that the vulva is the external genitalia and skin, and the vagina is the internal canal where tampons go. I think the lack of education and using “vagina” as a catchall term leads to a lot of mis-use.
Lastly, you might not need any vulvovaginal products! But we believe that in this day and age, women shouldn’t have to suffer in silence. There should be healthier solutions for our intimate care problems, especially when these problems are chronic and affect daily life. We want to continue to bring light to/break shameful, antiquated stigmas responsible for the damaging inequities in women’s health.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
1) Cash reserves are important because in my experience (and 20 years working with labs/suppliers) the QC has suffered and more mistakes are occurring in the supply chain, which often means a brand has to be prepared to fix problems that are not necessarily their “fault” and these problems can lead to stock issues that affect cashflow.
2) Since I’m a trained product developer, safety has always been at the forefront. But many brand founders entered the space without these safety standards in place. It was interesting and beneficial to see influential retailers elevating their standards and becoming a voice and advocate for consumer safety.
3) That wellness will always be an important part of being human and we need to make it as accessible as possible so everyone can thrive. This isn’t easy with rising costs and expectations around revenue, especially if you’ve taken venture capital.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ladysuitebeauty.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ladysuite_beauty/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ladysuitebeauty/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ladysuiteintimateskincare2494
