Any way to protect this?

NYinNC

I have an idea for a product.  I have looked all over and found nothing that is being marketed this way. I`m pretty sure it stands a chance of success. However, I am pretty positive the idea is not patentable.  I believe this to be the case because there are many products out there that do basically the same thing. The key difference with my idea is in what the product would be marketed and sold as.  A hypothetical example would be lotion.  Lotion is sold everywhere in many different brands, scents, ect. Lotion can be used on hands, feet, legs, arms, etc. Say someone came up with a new way to market lotion for use in a similar way to how it was intended, but for use on one specific body part.  Like arms. So they specifically sold it for use on the arms. This is a bit of a stretch but it`s the only example I could come up with...
 Is there any way to protect this type of idea at all?  Is there any type of patent or other protection that can protect the idea of the product being marketed and sold in the certain way?  I`d love to persue this, but I`m unsure as to how to go about protecting myself or if protecting it is even possible.  Hypothetically speaking, if I started making and selling this product myself and it became somewhat successful, I`d be worried that another big company would come in and see it was becoming successful and they`d make their own version.  Thus, I could potentially lose big time. 
Any help, ideas or advice would be much appreciated!!

LiveWise

It would be worth your time and money to consult with a patent attorney.  They would be able to answer these questions and protect you idea at the same time.

patentandtrademark

if there is enough market potential, check with your patent lawyer and get a real answer.