05 Nov The story behind Sirens Beauty Salon, Durham

People usually meet Sirens as it is now: award-winning, busy, a city-centre salon with a wall of certificates and a team I’m proud of. What they don’t see is the version that started with £5,000, a run-down room, and a lot of charity-shop furniture. I’ve been in this industry since 1996, and how I got from there to here is a big part of why I care so much about doing things properly. So if you’ll indulge me, let me tell you how Sirens came to be.

Starting out

I qualified in beauty and hair in 1996, and I opened my very first salon at just nineteen. It closed after three years, and that early stumble probably taught me more than any success could have. I went on to freelance and to work at Saks, soaking up everything I could, and I kept studying, eventually earning my teaching qualifications and a Level 6 in human biology, nutrition and complementary therapies. I’ve never wanted to stop learning.

Building Sirens

When I opened Sirens in Durham’s city centre in 2012, it began with £5,000 from a personal injury settlement and a space that had seen much better days. I renovated it myself with recycled materials and second-hand finds, because that was what I could afford, and waxing kept the lights on in those early days while I ran a training school alongside it. It was hard work, but it was mine, and slowly it grew.

A team, and a community

Over the years Sirens became far more than a salon. People joined my team and grew with me, clients came back again and again, and the place turned into a proper community, somewhere people feel looked after. Those long-standing relationships are still the part I’m most proud of.

Recognition along the way

The awards did start to come. A couple of local business awards in a single evening in the early years, alongside a social media award the same night, then lash competition placings, and eventually national recognition, including Professional Beauty’s Educator of the Year. In 2025 we placed third for Salon of the Year and second for Service to Industry at the Scratch Awards, part of more than 40 industry awards now. I don’t shout about them often, but every one stands for a lot of graft.

Sirens today

In 2025 we completed a full refurbishment and made a big decision: we removed the hair side of the business to focus entirely on advanced skincare, beauty and wellness. It felt like coming home to what we do best. With more than 500 five-star reviews and hundreds of loyal clients, Sirens today is everything I hoped it might become back in that run-down little room. And we’re still growing.

If you’d like to be part of the next chapter, come and see us at 12 Market Place in Durham, or book online. We’d love to welcome you.