MY LIGHT BULB MOMENT
Skincare innovator Antonia Philp
Paediatric nurse antonia Philp, 33, co‑founded skincare brand Nursem to soothe hard‑ working hands. She lives in Newcastle with husband Jonny, 35, a designer, and two children. WHEN I qualified as a nurse 11 years ago, I soon found the skin on my hands started to become dry, cracked and would bleed. I saw colleagues suffer, too, but there was no way of getting around it; as a nurse, you have wash your hands all the time to keep yourself and the patient free of infection.
Once I was off for more than a week because my hands were so bad I wasn’t allowed to work.
NHS nurses and midwives wash their hands on average 55 times a day. One survey for Nursing Times showed that 87 per cent of nurses suffer from some form of contact dermatitis or dry skin.
That was my lightbulb moment. Not only would I source and invent an effective hand cream for myself, but I’d do it for all those NHS workers whose jobs meant their hands were permanently and unavoidably dry and chapped.
I began looking for products with as many natural ingredients as possible. Too many existing products were petroleum-based or contained additives such as silicone or mineral oils. I needed something super-absorbent, nongreasy and small enough to slip into a nurse’s pocket.
Once I’d found a formula using plant-derived active ingredients, we tried it out on 3,000 nurses, as well as mums, gardeners and hairdressers.
We did rigorous clinical safety tests to ensure the formulas were hospital-compatible and didn’t undermine hand-washing or infection control measures. Most important of all, for every product sold, we pledged to provide a month’s worth of free hand cream to a NHS nurse or midwife.
Manuka honey is used in dressings so I knew it was good for healing. Today our Nursem product range ingredients include Manuka, hyaluronic acid, colloidal oatmeal, avocado and shea butters.
I launched a Crowdfunder campaign to raise £20,000 but beat that target. We’re now stocked in Boots and are on a mission to provide free hand cream to all nurses and midwives by 2025.
For Jonny and I, Nursem isn’t just about launching a business. A lot of healthcare staff go above and beyond the call of duty and we wanted to say thank you.