"Skin Shields" are the result of almost 2 years work but to be honest, that work was purely to solve my own problem - dealing with the blisters and torn skin on my daughters feet. No amount of "breaking in" or "out of the box" heavy shoes seemed to make a difference to the state of her feet.
I had hoped there would be a simple and straightforward solution, after all, there are any amount of socks and fibres available to runners and hikers. While that is true, we still needed to develop a proto-type sock, find a manufacturer who would make it, test it with dancers and test it again, just to be sure! We were delighted when an Irish owned sports sock manufacturer agreed that this was a genuine problem that needed to be solved and had the patience to deal with me saying "it has to have no seam at the toes", "we need to reduce friction", "it needs to take moisture away from the skin", "no, that's not thick enough - their feet will slip" etc etc! Three proto-types later, we now have "Skin Shields". Friction on the skin is reduced (because the inside layer and outside layer rub against each other, instead of pulling the skin), feet are kept dry so the skin breaks less easily (the inside layer is Meryl® Skinlife, a lightweight, hypoallergenic microfibre that draws moisture to the outer cotton sock) and we added a re-enforced heel and toe, as well as an arch grip, for comfort.
So, although this is “my story” about Skin Shields, our business is taken everywhere it goes by the challenges you face on your dancing journey (so technically "this is your story”!).
#loveheavieshateblisters #skinshields #performanceathlete
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