A LOCAL beauty salon would recently mark 20 years of business, offering pampering and pedicures for the people of Carlisle.

Cirrus Beauty is a friendly salon based at Ashley Street, offering all aspects of beauty including facials, nails, pedicures, and full body massage.

Owner Jane Mcleod set up the business when she was just 18, having qualified as a beauty therapist.

She was keen to start her own business in Carlisle, having lived in the border city all her life, and achieved that dream as a teenager.

She said: "When I first qualified I worked in a salon in town, but I always wanted to have my own business. I went around looking for premises to rent and everything went from there.

"We still offer the same things we did in 2003 but things have progressed over the years as new things have come in.

"My daughter has joined me now in the business, she's 17 and she's in her final year at college training to be a beauty therapist. It's a family business these days."

Having worked on Ashley Street since she was a teenager, Jane was able to purchase the property last year.

Throughout the 20 years, Cirrus has maintained some of the same customers that first attended in 2003, and the business was also able to bounce back after being forced to close during the Covid pandemic.

Jane added: "It's bounced back. It was tough over Covid as we weren't able to open at all to start with, with it being a close-contact service.

"When we came back, everything was different, we had a lot of PPE. It was hard as a business that is obviously very personal. But we're all back to normal now which is nice."

On October 27, the business officially marked 20 years since opening the door, with Jane's husband baking a big cake and supplying a balloon to mark the occasion, while they were visited by regular clients from the past two decades. 

Jane concluded: "I'd love to thank all the therapists both present and past that have worked for me."