Solemates finds way to ease mask irritation
Company’s Blister Block balm can help health care workers with discomfort
GREENWICH — Local company Solemates, which offers an expansive line of shoe care products, has an item that’s proving beneficial to frontline health care workers.
Solemates’ popular Blister Blocker, an anti-friction balm that prevents blisters and chafing caused by shoes, is being used by some frontline health care professionals to combat the painful, annoying face chafing that results from wearing N95 protective masks for extended periods during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Greenwich resident and Solemates cofounder Monica Ferguson and co-founder Becca Brown recently received inquiries from health care workers about their
Blister Blocker product.
“A nurse from Mount Sinai Hospital, who experienced chafing due to wearing an N95 mask, asked if we could do something about it,” Ferguson said. “We talked about Blister Blocker and how it could help.”
Added Brown: “We had nurses reach out to us and say, ‘Hey, can you help us with this Blister Blocker product to provide relief ?’ After talking about it, we knew it was a good idea and we decided to mobilize our customer base.”
The Solemates co-owners launched a “Get One, Give One” program to support the effort of sending Blister Blocker to the health care community.
For every Blister Blocker purchased by customers, Solemates will donate one Blister Blocker to a health care worker. Based out of Port Chester, N.Y., Solemates is an online company that also offers its products at retail stores such as DSW, CVS, and David’s Bridal. Its products include heel protectors, anti-bacterial sprays, weather protectors, insoles, high heel guards, leather salves, and the popular Blister Blocker.
“A lot of nurses are contacting us about Blister Blocker,” said Ferguson, a Greenwich High School graduate who earned degrees from Georgetown University and Columbia University. “Our main supplier filled a couple of hundred of tubes for us. Everyone is in a position of wanting to help any way they can.”
Ferguson noted that Solemates sent emails to 25,000 customers to spread the word of its “Get One, Give One” initiative.
“The program started a week-and-half ago and we have received a tremendous response,” said Brown, who resides in Manhattan. “A lot of customers have said, ‘Please send that order to a hospital.’ It’s been really great to see the support our customers have shown and the requests we are getting from nurses, medical assistants, physicians, and other health care professionals.”
Thus far, Brown said, Solemates has delivered Blister Blocker to health care employees at New York University Hospital, New York Presbyterian, Mount Sinai, Plainview Hospital/Northwell Health and some health care facilities in California.
“It’s nice that as business owners we are able to pivot in a time of crisis,” Brown said. “Since we are not selling heel protectors, because not many people are going out, it’s great that we can use one of our products to support a good cause.”
Solemates, which also sells its items on Amazon and at numerous boutiques, was featured on the popular TV show “Shark Tank” in 2016. Ferguson and Brown appeared on Episode 4 of Season 8, pitching their patented High Heeler product — an item that prevents high heels from sinking into surfaces such as grass.
“It was an amazing, very surreal experience for us,” Brown said. “We got a lot of exposure and it helped raise awareness for our product.”
Their Solemates product drew a lot of interest from the “Shark Tank” cast and they received two offers, one of which they accepted. They eventually decided not to accept the deal.
“It was still a memorable experience,” Brown said. “Because we were on the show we are part of a ‘Shark Tank’ Facebook group, which has been such a great resource for us, in terms of sharing ideas with fellow small business owners.”
To purchase Blister Blocker and participate in Solemates’ “Get One, Give One” initiative, which lasts until at least May 15, visit www.thesolemates.com
“We have been collecting pictures from the nurses with Blister Blocker and sending them out to our customers,” Ferguson said. “The things people have shared has been so nice. This is a great way for our customers to see how they are helping.”