Podiatry Now Magazine
When a podiatrist and an aromatherapist identified a niche in the market for natural and holistic treatments to combat some of the most stubborn foot complaints, they combined their expertise to create the 'Footessentials' range.
From simple beginnings in 2003 the brand has gone from strength-to-strength and is taking the podiatry industry by storm now that it has been backed by a major distributor and nationwide demand for the unique products continues to grow. After running a highly successful podiatrist practice for many years Debra Hughan was frustrated that the many chemical-based formulae available on the market could not meet many of her patients' requirements.
She was keen to find a non-toxic alternative to treat problems such as fungal nail infection, verrucas, chilblains and athletes foot, and turned to arometherapist Sheila Leonard for help. Sheila relished the challenge and used her specialist knowledge of Essential Oils to blend a range of delightfully fragranced products to target these common foot problems.
Each of the five products contains a combination of Essential Oils that work together to fight a specific ailment. Because of their natural content they can be massaged into the skin twice a day and are suitable for children over 5 years of age and adults with sensitive skin as well as people with medical conditions such as diabetes.
Sheila said: "In the current climate people want to use pure natural products. These Oils work to eradicate foot problems but they also improve the immune system and regenerate the skin which helps to fight off future infections."
Once Sheila had perfected the range, Debra began to recommend the Oils through her clinic and was delighted with the results and positive feedback that followed.
She said: "In all my years of practice I have never seen anything like this on the market. Initially I offered the products to my patients as an addition to the treatments that I was already providing and they soon began to tell me how enjoyable they are to use and how fantastic the results were.
"Even those who had suffered with problems for many years were showing a huge improvement in their symptoms."
The positive feedback continued and the two women decided to take the next step and they set about creating the 'Footessentials' brand and now have a distributor who is marketing the range nationally.
This marked the start of a business partnership and friendship that would take them to exhibitions all over the country. Their professional approach and belief in the products is infectious and soon the orders came flooding in from renowned podiatrists, who wanted another tool in their armoury to fight these stubborn foot complaints.
Sheila and Debra negotiated with major distributors Canonbury Healthcare who now promote the virtues of the 'Footessentials' range and offer the products on its website. The Oils have generated interest from overseas. Despite the recent success it hasn't been an easy journey for the two friends; there were initial teething problems with bottling and marketing the Oils, and of course they encountered sceptics along the way - but their determination and belief in the value of the products gave them the drive to carry on. Sheila said: 'It's taken a lot of hard work to get to this stage but it has also been a fantastic experience and we had a lot of fun along the way. "We're really pleased that we can offer a natural alternative to what is already available - we care about our patients' problems and we know these products work."