Passionate about feet, Margaret Dabbs has successfully paved her way to the beauty world to get to where she is now. This podiatrist started opening foot clinics in 1998 and became a pioneer in medical pedicure. In order to please her clients and achieve the desirable feet everyone dreams of, she created a range of foot products that fuse both health and beauty.

Known for transforming the way the feet look and feel, her clinics are going from strong to stronger. This interview will give you the opportunity to discover the world of Margaret Dabbs, her clinics, her career and her vision for nail beauty.

 

Where did it all begin?

I am a podiatrist, a medical specialist for feet. At the beginning, I worked in Harley Street in Consulting Rooms and saw patients. Traditionally speaking, a podiatrist looks after the nails of the feet and a pedicurist beautifies them, but all I did when patients came to me was treat their feet in the way I wanted my feet to look. I just gave treatments that I felt I wanted. People just started talking about it and editors came to see me. People would ask me what they could use to treat the skin of the feet if they had dry skin or hard skin and I felt that treatment products that you bought from a chemist weren't even that effective.  So I literally sourced ingredients to use in the clinic. People were amazed by how good their feet looked.

I did not plan to launch products and when I created the foot range, Harrods approached me and expressed interest; they asked me to set up there and they launched my products. This happened about 9 years ago.

Then I decided to move out of Consulting Rooms in Harley Street and assume a high street presence to give us accessibility and visibility. At that time, everyone who got a treatment also needed the service of painting their nails and getting a manicure. So that is when I decided to have a high street presence through a clinic and brought in nail technicians to train.

Do you think every kind of skin needs a special product?

If you go for a manicure or a pedicure, the products used on the hands and feet are dictated by the nail polish choice. In fact, every treatment follows a protocol. Since hands are now the biggest age concern of our time, with us you see everything, from the product they use to the sterilized tools. We put everything next to the people and we show them what we use. This is essential in the strategy of treating our clients.

How did you open your second location?

After opening in the high street 8 years ago, the managing director of Liberty was walking past us. He entered and asked if he can meet me. When he saw me, he showed me a space and asked if I can come up with a concept to open there. I kept thinking about the reason behind his interest in my ideas. At the time, I didn’t tell anyone about this subject because I thought that it surely was not going to happen. But it did, and now, the clinic has been open there for nearly 5 years.

Is this your first clinic in the Middle East?

Yes, this is the first one. What happened at the time was that Rania Masri, Level Shoes General Manager was in London and while in Liberty she saw my clinic. A few months later she saw my foot products somewhere else, took a photo of them and realized they seemed very familiar. She had remembered that it was my brand, and she contacted me. At that time, we had just rebranded our products.  The Margaret Dabbs Sole Lounge inside Level Shoes is the only clinic in the Middle East.

Can you tell us a bit about your renewed nail polish?

We worked really hard on the nail polishes as we wanted them to be good for the nails. The formulation is from the US. We wanted them to be nourishing instead of being dehydrating. You know, so many people who get a gel manicure are terrified when they take it off, as it really damages the nails.

Without copying any of the nail brands, I focused on the winter trends and got inspired by all the purples, the blues and the greens. It made for a collection of 72 beautiful shades.

What about the base and the top coat?

We don't use base as our polish contains the nourishing elements needed. We apply it straight on the nail, which will not witness any discoloration, because the nail polish is a treatment and it kind of sticks on.

We also have a top coat but the finish of the nail polish is so amazing that there is no need for one. Sometimes, the girls use the latter when they think the color is not enough in order to seal it and make it shine.

What’s next for Margaret Dabbs?

Now we are about to open in Manchester.

 

Mirella Haddad