I began my career in beauty therapy in 1970 and it has been an interesting journey particularly as there have been enormous changes occurring in the beauty field during this time. The catalyst for me occurred when I came across a special edition of Vogue magazine that was devoted to the world of beauty, in particular, beauty salons. Unlike today there weren't many magazines available that provided an insight into this very glamorous world that appeared so far away from the proposed teacher training course that I had applied for, in Physical Education! 

Unfortunately there seemed to be very few colleges in the country that provided training. After some research I found only four Colleges dotted around the country and several private establishments all located in London. The cost of private education and living in London prevented me taking that route and I was fortunate enough to obtain a place in a College in Manchester and I even received a grant to attend. The course I undertook was a full time course which required me to attend college for at least 30 hours a week maybe more. It is very different today with most 'full time' students in college for only fifteen or sixteen hours a week. 

When I took my final exams two years later there were only seventy students taking the exams nationally and it was almost a certainty that you could walk straight into the job that you had chosen. I was very happy to be accepted for the first job that I applied for, a brand new venture within a hotel group, specialising in body treatments. I was fortunate enough to be interviewed by a charismatic lady called Peta Hancock, who had worked in the Spa industry for many years in Europe, she was given the job of establishing a series of saunas specialising in heat treatments and body massage, in some of the best hotels in the UK and I learned a great deal from her about good business practise. The hotel group had an extremely varied client base and I treated many famous footballers, members of the medical and law professions and celebrities galore from TV, theatre and film. Because this was a new venture I was promoted to a management position within a year and travelled between the hotels gaining experience and helping with promotional activities.  

I then left the company, as I was soon to be married and did not wish to continue travelling, to work for an internationally renowned hairdresser Pierre Alexandre, (his other salons were in Switzerland and Morocco). This time specialising in beauty treatments only, having provided enough massages to last me a lifetime!

I also worked on publicity shots for magazines, providing the makeup for the models used by the hairdressers and started providing skin care and makeup lessons for two leading Manchester model agencies. Both environments provided a wealth of experience and gave me the chance to meet a great many famous and interesting people but I felt the time was right to move on in my career.

I established my own mobile business which I enjoyed very much building up a business with many clients who have since remained friends. It wasn't until ten years later in 1985 that I decided to teach beauty therapy in a local college. I decided to do this purely because I had three young children, I wanted to work but I needed to fit my work around the children and have the holidays free. I soon realised however that it wasn't just a convenient occupation but I enjoyed teaching and wanted to make this my career. I have been working at South Trafford College in Manchester since 1985 and am now there full time co-ordinating the Level 3 beauty therapy programme and helping to develop Spa therapy and advanced techniques. I am also an internal verifier and worked for some time as an external examiner for City and Guilds.  Teaching is a very rewarding career, it is highly satisfying to observe students blossom from shy young students into confident career women.

When I started teaching I was aware that there were very few books available for students and they were constantly asking about books to buy. I wrote my own learning materials and the students seemed to like the style and as I enjoyed doing this I decided to approach Butterworth Heinemann with the idea of producing a series of Fact Files on different beauty subjects. I had two reasons for approaching Butterworth Heinemann; Firstly I was using a body massage book written by an ex tutor of mine Audrey Goldberg and she had also written a beauty therapy textbook for them.

Secondly Butterworth Heinemann was a very well known publishing name and there was an address on the back of the book asking for those interested in writing textbooks to contact them, so I did. I was then asked to research the market, assess the competition and write a sample chapter. The result of this was that Butterworth Heinemann offered me a contract.  

I now write for Heinemann and have written four books: -        

• The Beauty Therapy Fact File fourth edition        
• Reflexology       
• Business Management for Hairdressers and Therapists
• The Illustrated Beauty Therapy Dictionary

I also provide professional consultancy services to beauty companies, devise training programmes, write training manuals and contribute to setting the occupational standards in beauty therapy. I was lucky enough to work part time, whilst teaching, as a trainer in the 'Jessica' natural nail cultivation system, for The Natural Nail Company, a highly respected company in the beauty industry today, this provided me with a ideal balance, working both in education and industry.

I have continued with my own professional development, as there are so many interesting courses available now, adding; Aromatherapy, Reflexology, Stone Therapy, Balinese massage and Indian Head massage to my original beauty qualifications. I continue to research new trends and techniques and find the beauty industry even more exciting than it was all those years ago when I first started! I hope that you enjoy browsing my web site and I will endeavour to provide you with as much information as I can to help you in your chosen career.