That’s down to new owner, entrepreneur Alice I’Anson Widdows and her determination to offer a premium experiential hair, beauty and aesthetics service to the men and women of Wynyard, and its surrounding areas. Expanding the offering to more than just hair was part of a masterplan that would see Wynyard Therapy become something of a one-stop-shop and a community haven.

In the year that Alice has been at the helm of Wynyard Therapy she has run a tight ship. With her background in superyacht events which has seen her travel the world in every type of weather, she’s used her crew management skills to the salon to great effect. Having grown her team from five to eleven (recruited from the local area), Alice says it’s been rough at times given her need to strive for “seven star service” and the “ultimate customer experience”. Ultimately, and reflecting upon the achievements of the past year of ownership which includes the salon being awarded three prestigious local awards, Alice says “It takes a village” when discussing some of the hurdles in her path and credits her team for their hard work and determination throughout what has been a rocky transition period. In fact if I had to guess, I’d say she feels that the team she’s assembled are her proudest achievement in this venture so far.

It’s important to remember that in a post Covid 19 pandemic world, new salons are on the decline. Wynyard Therapy is one of only 2215 (at the time of writing) hair and beauty salons in the North East region currently in operation. The hair and beauty industry was one of the hardest hit by the pandemic following lockdowns, forced closure periods and then the introduction of social distancing which reduced salon capacity in the months leading out of the pandemic. The relaunch of this village favourite has offered employment to local people as well as a real focus on giving residents a menu of services that they actually want.

Alice has a long term goal to offer clients more than just a luxury salon experience though. Looking to the future there are plans to offer wellbeing events which will focus on specific, client driven topics such as menopause, teen skin and men’s health. But back to right now, one year in to ownership and Alice is beaming as she talks about her team, and how fully invested they are in not just offering a top notch service to their 3000+ strong client base, but also a safe space for clients to offload their worries, and to trust their stylist or practitioner to give honest advice on colour, style or chosen treatment. All of this of course, backed up by years of experience and ultimately confidence – something Alice feels is very important in her tight knit crew of staff.

So, what’s changed? Well after two years of market research Alice has introduced a skin clinic to Wynyard Therapy offering high quality aesthetics which are dentist led – why is that important? Dentists have comprehensive knowledge of facial anatomy and ultimately facial mechanics, they’re also able to prescribe meaning that treatment is immediate after the point of consultation, and most importantly they’re able to prescribe and treat in the extremely unlikely event of a negative reaction, a huge factor to consider when deciding where to book your aesthetic treatment. In addition to aesthetics, new to the line up is medical grade skincare as well as pharmaceutical skincare which have all been selected to compliment the results driven skin treatments and programmes available enabling clients to take a little bit of the in-salon experience home with them.

The much loved Hydrafacial will launch at Wynyard Therapy in December, as one of the most powerful, non-invasive skin resurfacing treatments available, with no downtime, that’s a huge coup for the community given that the nearest beauty salon is in the next village. There are plans to offer more high quality, technology based facial treatments over the next twelve months and a focus on professional development within the team to ensure that the treatment, the environment and the delivery are all part of that luxury experience the salon is striving for.

The hair salon has had a makeover too. Not just a physical refurbishment but in the products and services offered. As a L’Oreal Professionnel salon, products are prescriptive to your hair’s needs and whilst there are recommendations, there’s no hard sell – the focus is ultimately on the customer experience, Alice is very clear about this as she tells me “I want everyone who visits the salon to feel like a guest”

So far, the new and updated Wynyard Therapy has been well received within the community. A recent launch event led to some amazing feedback as clients new and old were invited to try out taster treatments and tour the new clinic space. Well, as the salon’s strap line says, “Everyone needs a little Therapy!”

If you’d like to find out more, or join the invite list for future events, visit

 www.wynyardtherapy.com to sign up.

With thanks to Nicci King Photography for images