Growing up, Barbara McAteer was always surrounded by plants and herbs. Being one of 11, there was always a cut to tend to or a bump to mend.
“I grew up always having herbalism instilled in me. My mam was a great believer in plants and herbs and their ability to heal and was always making products for use in our own home,” she explains. “She would grow herbs the garden and I was so fascinated listening to listening to her talk about the medicinal benefits of herbs and plants when I was growing up.”
It’s no surprise that Barbara set up her own natural skincare company as an adult, named after her mother, Josie.
Here, we chat to Barbara about natural skincare, her company and how she balances it all.
I got into complementary healing… from my mam who instilled in us love of nature. A lot of my siblings went down the complementary medicine route. In my mid-20s, I studied holistic massage and I continued my studies in different forms of healing and complementary therapies. I went on to become a teacher of complementary therapies and for the past 20 years or more have been teaching Indian head massage, natural face courses and ear candling. As a result of being a teacher, it got me interested in developing my own product range, primarily for use in my own practice, as I work a huge amount with clients with additional needs in the community. I started to develop my products and noticed that I had my staples of cleansing balm and skin tonics for a few years. During lockdown, I couldn’t work as a therapist, so I decided to spend my time wisely and really became passionate about delving into the products that I and been creating and expanding the range. I have gotten them all certified so they are all legal to sell and it gives people confidence to know they are safe. I have created a range for all skin types that balances the PH of the skin and helps to repair the skin so I have lots of lovely repairing products. I know that the plants that I am using to create the oils have such a healing factor, because I have seen it firsthand working as a therapist.
A day in my life might look like this… sometimes I am up very early in the morning, I am out in my cabin making products because I have to balance making the products with doing therapies. Today I came out and looked at my online orders. I will be making a batch of the hand repair cream and some of the skin tonic today. I had a client at nine this morning, I had an aromatherapy massage with a natural face lift massage, and then at 12 I have another woman coming for a Japanese face lift technique, they all love that! After that, I have a few hours where I will be delving into making products. So it’s a mix of making the products, getting the orders out and doing my treatments.
I realised I could make a career out of this when… about 20 years ago when I came back from the States, I was working a sales environment, I was doing office work for a man, and the Celtic Tiger took off. On the side, I was always studying holistic therapies and practising on friends and family. When the bubble burst, I decided this was not for me. I took the plunge and it was scary as I was leaving a very well-paid job to suddenly start as a therapist with no clients. I was starting from scratch. It took a few years to build that up, and within a few years got around by word of mouth. I work in Stewarts Care two days a week. I was asked to work there as an aromatherapist and holistic therapist with the service users. That gave me a good, constant work and I have been there about 20 years now, so in the past 20 years it has gone from strength to strength and it has taken a few years to take off. With the products, I suppose, I have had them for myself for the past 10 years and in the past six years I have had them certified and approved and developed my website.
The hardest thing about working for myself… is making sure you get the right work-life balance, to know you can’t do everything, and it’s learning that. I was trying to do everything myself, and I had burned out. I had early six o’clock starts, and I wasn’t getting finished up till 10 at night. It was getting silly. Now I have a lovely team of people I 100 per cent trust. My niece is a virtual admin assistant who looks after my website. My neighbour comes once a week to help with the products and she’s incredibly helpful. I have a transition year student, and they love to come here on Monday to help me.
What I’m most proud of is… I won nine awards at the Beauty Shortlist Awards, which are the biggest global awards. I couldn’t believe that I won when I was up against so many big brands. I won the aroma therapy skincare brand, I am so proud of that. Every single product that I sent in apart from one, came home with an award. It gave me the boost and confidence.
I am inspired by… keeping it natural and seeing the difference. I have gotten so many lovely texts saying thank you so much and send me photographs and then within a day or two everything starts to heal. That inspires me. I am not just going in the right direction, but I am in the right direction with what I am doing because I am passionate about it. Seeing the difference is so rewarding for me.
If I were to recommend where to start with natural skincare… I think trying to find something locally to you that is 100 per cent pure and natural and maybe even discussing it with the person. I often have mums bringing their teenagers over here who are starting their journey. They are nervous about even asking where to start, and I’ve chatted to them and given them tips and advice. Reaching out to someone who makes these products, there are so many like myself who are making lovely natural products, so reaching out and not being afraid to have a chat and let them know what’s going on.
My favourite product is… my organic cleansing balm its like a spa treat. That and the nourishing night cream, then to go over it, the sensory benefit and the skin benefit, it’s a goodie!
My aspiration is… to keep growing, and more and more people choose to use natural products. People still need an education. I wouldn’t put any other company down but I would love to see more and more people choosing to go down the natural route of skincare. And just for my company to thrive and grow.
Find out more at Josie’s Botanicals