Chester salon owner Emma Herridge opens her spa up to women from all walks of life

Dec 27 2012 by Carmella de Lucia, Flintshire Chronicle

Salon owner gives women from refuges free pampering sessions

EMMA Herridge has been a hairdresser for longer than she cares to remember.

She was just 16 when she started her training career in Chester working for Headmasters and it has been a big part of her life ever since.

With 22 years in the business under her belt, Emma, from Kinnerton, has recently opened her own hair salon in The Chester Wellness Centre on Wrexham Road.

But it’s not like your average salon. The aim of the Hair & Nail Spa is to give customers the most luxurious experience as possible.

Emma describes it as ‘a personal one-on-one service where you have our full and undivided attention’.

You can have your appointment at home or in the new and comfortable surroundings of the bespoke spa where you can enjoy refreshments in tranquil surroundings and a friendly atmosphere.

Emma said: “I always said I would never have my own salon unless I could recreate a relaxing and comfortable environment combined with the privacy of customer’s homes.

“I wish to provide my guests with an exclusive treatment space they can truly unwind in without the stress of having to go into town, park the car in a hurry, experience a rushed service and fly back to the car in the pouring rain.

“I have built on the hairdressing services to incorporate all manner of image enhancing treatments so as to ensure my customers feel truly pampered during their appointments.”

And Emma has taken it on herself to help other women who might not always be able to visit her spa. For one day a month she is now giving women from refuges in the Chester and Ellesmere Port areas a complete free pampering experience where they can have a new hairstyle and beauty treatments and their nails painted, which Emma says is a truly ‘gratifying’ experience.

“You can see their confidence rising at the end of the day,” she said. “It really helps these women when they are going for interviews or anything like that. They are all of different ages and from different backgrounds.

“I remember one lady being so pleased with her makeover that she cried. As a hair stylist, you do get used to being a shoulder to cry on.”

Emma also helps out local charities by offering vouchers for haircuts and colour treatments in a bid to encourage as many people as possible to enjoy her treatments.

Her friend Christine Talbot is full of admiration for Emma, and says giving something back to the less fortunate makes her truly happy.

“One feels that she is never going to get rich from her business, but she just always thinks of other people and is such an inspiring young woman,” she said.

For more, visit www.emmaherridge.co.uk.