Nicci Trudgeon: An Honest Skincare Ritual Born from a Therapist’s Question
For over two decades, as a beauty therapist, Nicci Trudgeon watched skincare routines become ever more complicated. Day after day, she asked herself: Do we really need all these products? When did cleansing become a chore that strips our sk
For over two decades, as a beauty therapist, Nicci Trudgeon watched skincare routines become ever more complicated. Day after day, she asked herself: Do we really need all these products? When did cleansing become a chore that strips our skin, rather than a ritual that restores it?
Innerlather, her therapist-led skincare brand, became the answer. But the real reason for starting it was deeply personal. By nature a people pleaser, she wanted to build a business that would fit around her family, one that allowed her to take the nurturing energy of the treatment room and bottle it for people to enjoy at home.
“Everything that we make has to have its formula tested... so that had a knock-on effect, and we had to pay to recertify all our products,”
The move from therapist to business owner was a steep learning curve, funded entirely by her income from beauty treatments. There were early batches of soap that didn’t set, late nights figuring out suppliers, and the painstaking decision to hand-print her own tissue paper to ensure every detail felt special. A low point came after a successful Christmas season, when a supplier unexpectedly changed a key formulation. “Everything that we make has to have its formula tested... so that had a knock-on effect, and we had to pay to recertify all our products,” she recalls. “I think it was my lack of experience that really showed, and I now know that things can change, and I have to plan for that.”
That resilience paid off. Innerlather’s ethos is one of quality over quantity, creating versatile products that respect the skin’s biology. The popular Top to Toe Wash serves as a hand wash, shower gel or bubble bath, while the hero product, Nourish & Glow Skin Oil, can be used on the face, body, hair and cuticles. For Nicci, it’s about acknowledging the reality of modern life. “You know, when you have a job, a family, sometimes you only have a few minutes to shower and that's your time to yourself,” she says. “So it's really important to make the most of it.”
The brand has grown steadily from its kitchen-table beginnings, moving into a dedicated studio and recently having its hand-poured soaps selected as guest gifts for a cultural launch at the British Film Institute. Looking ahead, Nicci plans to expand her bespoke aromatherapy consultations, allowing clients to create their own signature scent profiles. It’s part of a quiet, intentional approach to growth. She knows she is navigating a saturated market, but her goal isn’t world domination; it’s connection.
“I'm still working on finding all my people, but I just need a few at a time,” she explains. “And then I'm gonna really look after them, and then they come back again and again.” It is this philosophy of care, distilled from twenty years in the treatment room, that makes Innerlather feel less like a product, and more like a relationship.