A PRUDHOE hair and beauty salon celebrated a big anniversary last weekend.

Walnut Hair and Beauty marked its birthday, having occupied its spot on the town’s Front Street for 20 years.

Elaine Campin opened the business as a hair and beauty salon originally, but has since stepped back from the hairdressing side of things, and she now operates a semi-permanent make up business from the salon.

Manager Kathryn Scott said: “Now we offer more services than we ever have done.

“Now we offer services on three floors with a brow bar, nail bars and now the semi-permanent make up.

“We hope to be able to offer a one shop shop; we already have clients who can spend a whole day here – while their colour is on they will often get their nails and brows done.”

Of the 14 staff at the salon, some of them have been there right from the start, and the same can be said for some of their customers.

Regulars have continued to return as the salon has developed, but new clients also continue to come through the doors.

“We have new customers coming all the time which is a good thing,” said Kathryn.

“We rely heavily on apprentices – we have them every year – and as well as helping them to learn and providing training it’s also a good way for them to bring in new clients to us.

“We have been a Paul Mitchell salon pretty much since we opened so they provide really good training and support for the staff here at the salon.”

In an industry which is constantly changing, with new styles always coming through, keeping up to date with training to master new styles and trends remains as a top priority for the staff.

“You have to move with the times,” added Kathryn.

“It’s our job to make sure we are bringing new things to our clients.

“Certainly the beauty side of things is getting more and more popular and we hope to keep doing that and growing further.”