Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Award winning Donna opens salon
Fast rise to success for beautician
An award-winning beautician is made-up after finally opening her own salon.
Donna Wilkie scooped the best beauty therapist in Lanarkshire prize at the Scottish Business Awards back in March – less than two years on from launching her career in the field.
And now the 40-year-old has launched the DW Hair, Beauty & Aesthetics facility in Whifflet Street, Coatbridge.
It marks the culmination of the Chapelhall business owner’s “longterm passion” as she explained to the Advertiser: “I previously rented a room in the Wellness Hub in Airdrie but discovered that the site on Whifflet Street was available to rent and thought it was time to run my own salon.
“We opened during the September weekend and it has been a fantastic experience ever since.
“Although I only started working in beauty therapy about two-and-a-half years ago, it has been a long-term passion of mine.
“I have three other staff members with me, who are all Monklandsbased, and the business’ vision is to a ‘one-stop beauty shop’.
“We pride ourselves on being a salon where people’s every beauty need is met under one roof.”
Winning her Scottish Business Award earlier this year gave Donna a “wonderful opening” into running her own business.
She added: “When I found out I’d been named best beauty therapist in Lanarkshire I was absolutely thrilled.
“There have been people working in the field for 20-odd years and I was recognised despite only being involved for a couple of years.
“I actually made it through to the Scottish finals as well, which was a tremendous experience.
“Winning the award created a wonderful opening to launch my own salon and it was a nice boost to my confidence and the business itself.”
Donna and her team of staff have already built up a rapport with their customers, with Donna saying: “We have regular customers who pop in every few weeks and others who just come in on the day.
“Word-of-mouth has been important and we’ve had people from all over Lanarkshire visiting us.
“One of the most appealing things about renting the space on Whifflet Street is the area being situated in the middle of the M8 area, right between Glasgow and Edinburgh.
“We have really good banter with our customers and the relationship we develop with them is a key reason behind many of them coming back.”
DW Hair, Beauty & Aesthetics customers can take advantage of a variety of services to meet their beauty needs.
Donna said: “We do hair and weave extensions; classical glam, theatrical and natural make-up; waxing and spray tans; and Henna brows and massages.
“I focus mainly on skin work and we held a specialised clinic last month using different techniques and machines.
“I’m hoping to start up an aesthetic nurse in the near future and we’re all very excited about the future of DW Hair, Beauty & Aesthetics.”
Visit www.facebook.com/ dwderma/ or call 01236 897787 to find out more about the salon.