It was a distressing time for mum Julie Ashworth when her baby daughter wouldn't stop crying with a severe nappy rash. Medicines prescribed by their GP 'made things worse', she says, so she decided to put her background in aromatherapy to use - creating her own soothing spray that cured her baby's irritated skin instantly.
Word got around with local mums where Julie is based in The Wirral and recently, her 'magic' product has caught the attention of North West celebrities - including model Danielle Lloyd. Now, the 56-year-old mum-of-two is selling her 'game-changing' spray on Amazon and soon hopes to retail in major supermarkets.
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Julie often has desperate customers knocking on her door to get hold of the special bottles and receives calls from mums across the country asking if she can post boxes out immediately.
Mummys Magic Nappy Care Spray came about following the birth of Julie's first daughter, Lauren, in 1998. At around eight months old, she suffered from eczema in the nappy rash area and on her legs.
"Shop products and even medicines prescribed by the doctor seemed to make matters worse," Julie told The Mirror.
"As soon as I touched her [Lauren] she just screamed. And I thought, 'why is there nothing out there'?
"It was really difficult.
"At the time I was studying aromatherapy so I was going into detail of what was in things and reading the back of products, so I knew what chemicals were.
"Some of the things I was finding were quite shocking. With perfume and fragrance, you can hide thousands of chemicals behind that.
"She was allergic to everything I put on her."
Julie, the youngest of seven, combined essential oils lavender , chamomile, shea butter, rosewater, and aloe, and added a few old wives' tales to the mix that were passed down from her mum - who knew everything when it came to motherhood, Julie says.
The qualified beauty therapist bottled the remedy into a non-touch spray, and within hours, the redness cleared up from Lauren's skin.
"Lauren slept for the first time in days," Julie, who went on to have a surprise second daughter with her partner Paul at 44, continues.
"No one believed me at first so I wrote the ingredients down.
" We used to call it ‘mummy's magic spray’ and said ‘mummy makes it better’ when we sprayed it on her and the name and words just stuck."
Following Julie's revelation, chickenpox had broken out in nurseries in her area, so she made up batches for other mums and soon became in demand.
When the birth of her second daughter, Ellen, came around in 2010, Julie began making her spray once again.
"She was just like her sister," Julie recalls.
"I used it at every nappy change and Ellen never once got a rash. Chickenpox was a breeze too. It helped the itch and she was scar free".
One night when she was watching Dragon's Den on TV with Paul, he suggested she set about turning her product into a business.
Julie contacted a baby product buyer who came back with a plan to put it in production - having it tested by dermatologists and undergoing clinical trials.
Officially launching a few years ago as a trademarked product, Mummys Magic - which was recently awarded 'Best Vegan Nappy Treatment Company 2022’ in Lux life Parent and Baby Awards 2022 and last year, achieved 'Best Vegan Nappy Spray 2021’ - became available to buy online and in North West stores.
Julie also visits local baby groups to sell her product.
"I have people knocking on my door for it," she adds.
"I've had people drive here from Wigan or I'll drop it off to people's houses. Half the time people are ringing me up for it - I had a lady from Birmingham last week."
After building her social media presence, a host of celebrities have also become part of Julie's clientele - some of which can't be named.
Danielle Lloyd, who is a mum-of-five, has reportedly told Julie she uses Mummys Magic for nettle stings and rashes.
A string of customer reviews by parents online state the product is "game-changing" while TikTok and YouTube sensation, Melissa Jade says: " I take Mummys magic everywhere with me, especially on holidays for bites and dry skin.”
Julie also recommends using her special concoction on all types of skin conditions - even on her ducks.
"It's brilliant for pets, I've saved a fortune in vet bills," she adds.
"I would love to see it everywhere in the future."
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