Nature's Nurse founder Kim Davies-Haycock left a successful career in the corporate world to follow her dream of creating a naturopathic range of products.
Kim Davies-Haycock has been interested in herbal medicine for as long as she can remember, even as a child she used to make lotions and potions of squashed flowers and leaves for toys and pets.
Kim studied Herbal Medicine and Aromatherapy at Auckland, New Zealand's Wellpark College of Natural Medicine. She fitted this study in around maternity leave from her job in marketing management and the birth of her second and third children.
Kim was amazed at the effectiveness of plant medicine (phytotherapy) but also realised that taking herbal medicine orally had limitations. Herbal extracts often tasted bitter and unpleasant, and could be difficult to access -requiring the specialist knowledge of a naturopath or herbalist.
In 2004 life events came together to make Kim reassess her future; a “significant” birthday, the sad death of a relative from a gangrenous ulcer, and 6 weeks off from work to recover from an operation. With so much time on her hands, Kim realised she wanted to do something which made it easier for people to access phyto-therapy, so they could benefit from the huge range of plant remedies available.
She began researching the latest developments in herbal medicine, finding research which showed the effectiveness of applying herbal preparations directly to the skin for treatment of underlying conditions. Only 4 years prior, the medical text books thought of the skin as an “impervious barrier”. Now research was showing trans-dermal (through the skin) application of active ingredients could deliver what the body required for healing faster and better than by taking the same amount orally.
Drug companies were now using this knowledge to develop trans-dermal drug patches. The key was creating a cream or gel that helped carry the active ingredients -whether plant based or synthetic pharmaceuticals - into the blood stream below the skins dermal layer. It was then the seeds for the future Nature's Nurse business were planted: 100% Natural remedies in effective safe and pleasant to use creams, shampoos and lotions, to help with everyday health and wellness issues.
The name "Nature's Nurse" seemed to capture everything Kim wanted the company to stand for - natural, helpful and caring.
The plan bubbled away for 10 or so months, while Kim researched and perfected a plant based herbal cream. Finally in mid 2005, a stroke of good fortune led Kim to meet Suzanne Hall, the founder of the well known New Zealand Living Nature range of natural skin care products. Suzanne's expertise in natural formulations provided valuable direction and ensured the formulas were 100% natural, safe and effective.
The pair worked on the underlying philosophy of Nature's Nurse - 100% natural, no synthetic parabens preservatives or petrochemicals, pleasant smelling and easy to use, environmentally friendly, easy to understand information and available where you want to buy it - health food stores, gyms, physiotherapists, variety stores and supermarkets.
The first product developed was a herbal muscle rub - to help soothe the aches and pains of Kim's husband Craig and his group of running friends as they trained for endurance events. The well known anti-inflammatory herb of Arnica Montana was the basis for the cream, supplemented by the fast acting pain relieving properties of the natural plant derived mineral MSM. These two active ingredients were supported by the ligament strengthening and anti-bruising properties of Comfrey Leaf extract, and colloidal minerals - which helped provide the building blocks for muscle and joint repair after injury.
Even though the group of runners swore by their new herbal muscle rub to help them prepare for training and to recover from events, it wasn't until Kim herself suffered a shoulder injury that she realised how well and quickly the herbal rub worked. Kim remembers rubbing the cream into her sore shoulder just before going to bed one night. “A few minutes later I realised the pain had gone - I was amazed. I remember running down the hall to tell my husband ‘It works - it actually works'. He said ‘We've been telling you for weeks that it's really great', but until then I hadn't really believed them - I thought they were just being kind”.
The following months saw the further testing and refinement of the Rapid Recovery Herbal Sports Rub, and the development of a gentler version - Rapid Recovery Herbal Family Rub, with the same therapeutic qualities, enhanced by soothing Certified Organic Lavender Essential Oil - ideal for pregnant women, young children, those with sensitive skin and the elderly.
Kim's friends were thrilled with her product samples, and those with school aged children asked her to create an effective natural remedy to treat head lice. This was the beginning of the Lice Lather range of products -a natural effective easy to use Headlice Treatment shampoo and Preventative Spray.
Kim put together a herbal shampoo product but only really got serious later that year when her family got their first dose of headlice. Kim says “You don't realise how revolting headlice are, and how time consuming they are to treat, until you have to deal with it yourself!”
Kim's research into the chemicals used in pharmaceutical products shocked her. The most common were seriously poisonous neuro-toxins (nerve poison) and suspected carcinogens (cancer - formers). Even more worrying was the research which showed headlice had evolved to become over 90% resistant to these poisonous chemicals. No wonder headlice infestations were being called an epidemic problem both in New Zealand and the rest of the western world.
Kim researched and tested 2 plant extracts, Neem and Quassia, known in their native countries as safe and effective against headlice. Working with experts she developed a shampoo using those herbal ingredients and essential oils, in an extremely mild “no more tears” formula. The shampoo ingredients are all naturally derived -with no irritating Sodium Lauryl Sulphates.
Kim says “I'm really pleased with the end result - it answers every problem our consumer panel identified. It is very safe but really effective on headlice and nits. It's quick to use - just a 3 minute shampoo treatment or a non-greasy preventative spray. And even better it's very cost effective with 10 to 20 treatments per tube of shampoo”.
As befits products with the tag line - ‘Cares for You - Naturally', sourcing the finest natural ingredients has been paramount. All the ingredients have been selected to work synergistically together - adding even more benefits to the user.
Most importantly the products do not contain synthetic preservatives, such as parabens. “It would have been so much easier just to use synthetic preservatives just like everyone else does - but once I read into it, I just couldn't do that to our consumers.”
Her research showed some of the preservatives commonly used in other products are known formaldehyde donors - the chemical used as a preservative in morgues, and a known carcinogen. Others, such as parabens, are skin sensitizers - setting some people up for a life time of allergic skin reactions, have been linked with breast tumours, and are suspected endocrine disruptors. Kim's belief was “Sure they might be cheap to use and preserve the products well, but at what cost to the consumer's long term health?”
Providing open and honest information to consumers is also important. Kim's belief is that people today want to be informed, and more people than ever read ingredient labels. All packaging contains a full list of ingredients, with a clear plain English description of the active ingredients, so that people who wish to know more can understand the raw materials and their benefits.
Making it easy and convenient to purchase is also crucial. The aim is to have Nature's Nurse available wherever people shop - health food stores, gyms, supermarkets, pharmacy, internet, and more specialised locations such as physiotherapists and family hairdressers.
Plans are underway for new products to help solve a range of everyday health and wellness problems.