From road machines to beauty treatments

And now, Hayley Scott, of Hayley Elizabeth Cosmetics is in the running for two national Hair and Beauty Awards.

The 30-year-old is a shortlisted finalist for Best New Salon and Best Brows after opening her new salon on Carre Street last month.

The awards take place in March and Hayley said: “It feels amazing and confirms I have achieved this.”

After training as a teenager she stepped away from the beauty business to work in a hotel and seven years in sales. “The last job I did was selling tarmac machines. I used to hide all the nails and lashes when I visited sites!” said Hayley.

“I started my salon in a cabin in my back garden in December 2019. After that I rented a room at Lash & Co on Westgate.”

Due to being relatively new, she was unable to claim government support during lockdowns and said: “It was challenging, but I set up a little business from home making candles and homewares. You have to be industrious as you can sit around and dwell or get on with it.”

Then she was offered the former antiques shop on Carre Street. Hayley said: “I have put new flooring down and built a pedicure station. I kept it quite classic, with a modern twist. It looks really grand and I have to pinch myself that I have done this in a short space of time.”

She specialises in cosmetic facials and semi-permanent make up but rents rooms to fellow beauty professionals Stephanie Burrows, an aesthetic nurse doing dermal fillers and anti-wrinkle injections, and Brooke Sorrell specialising in nails, massage, lash and brow treatments. She has room to accommodate more self-employed people and hopes to later offer training. There might seem to be a lot of beauty businesses in town, but she said they are all busy. “We have our own clients and styles and if customers are looking for something in particular we can refer them to other specialists.”