By Griffin Nelson
Photos by Jane Kortright
When Haley Maness was 18, she started experiencing debilitating headaches, extreme weakness, brain fog and more. Test after test came back negative and doctors implied it must be psychological. But Maness knew it was more than that. “My grandmother has more energy than me,” she remembers thinking. “This isn’t normal.”
Twenty years later nothing had changed, in fact, it had gotten worse. She would cry every day from the headaches on her commute home from Augusta to Aiken. She was not able to do her job from home and, with a new baby and the constant pain, she was at her wit’s end.
Willing to try anything, Maness consulted a doctor in Charleston who, for the first time, ran a Lyme panel. The results were off the charts. “Because this went undiagnosed for so long, antibiotics won’t work for you,” the doctor said. It was suggested that she focus on specific, holistic supplements to try to rebuild her immune system.
Experiencing relief for the first time in decades, Maness did a deep dive into the world of herbal remedies. So deep, in fact, that she ended up becoming a clinical herbalist. Armed with this knowledge, she saw an opportunity to help others with the same little-known disease as well as those who wanted to take control of their health.
A visit to Cold Creek Nurseries provided the opportunity. Maness had been making an elderberry and honey tonic using herbs originally recommended by the doctor — ones to which her body had responded so well. The owner of the nursery, in full support, offered to sell her tonic at the store. Maness then learned how to produce her tonic on a larger scale, resulting in the first of 12 products to hit the market. Roots and Leaves was born in 2017 and has expanded to more than 600 retail locations!
“Every single product that I sell is something that I use for myself first,” says Maness. This includes one of her best sellers: Fire Cider. The labor-intensive concoction aids in digestion and contributes to gut health while reducing the likelihood of gastrointestinal issues.
“It took me forever to formulate it so that it heats up your circulatory system — which is what you want — but it’s not so spicy you can’t handle it.” Maness believes in the benefits of Fire Cider so much that she offers it in both 2 and 16-ounce bottles, making it easy to keep in the pantry or toss in a bag when on the go.
“A huge passion of mine is empowering people to care for themselves so they won’t be so hugely dependent on Western medicine. I love doctors, I’m not knocking doctors. I’d go to the hospital if I had appendicitis or a broken arm. They’re just not always great at the chronic stuff,” says Maness.
Today, Aiken Wellness Spa & Boutique, which recently opened this summer, shares space with Cleanse Gourmet at 111 Warehouse Road.
The spa offers a variety of services such as lymphatic massage, electromagnetic frequency mats, infrared sauna, ionic detox foot baths and more.
“I want to empower people to be their own best doctors,” Maness says. “Our body was created to heal if we give it everything that it needs.”
Seen in the October 2023 issue of Augusta magazine.
