Ashton in the 1950s isn’t the first place you’d think of as being glamorous.
But in an upstairs room on Wellington Street, one woman firmly believed that one day ordinary women would visit the beauty salon as often as they went to the hairdressers.
That was back in 1955, and now the business she founded bearing her name – Mary Haworth Beauty Culture – is proof that the dream came true.
"Beauty salons weren’t around then," said Mary’s granddaughter, Suzanne Wood, who now runs the business with her sister Verity.
"After my grandfather died, she wanted to do something to bring some money into the household, so she decided to go to beauty school at the age of 45. There was nowhere to train around here, so she had to go to London. While she was there, she asked friends to look out for a premises for her and they all thought she was a lunatic – after all who was going to want a salon in Ashton?"
Mary eventually found an upstairs room on Wellington Street. In those early days she worked on her own and offered only basic treatments, including facials – for which she made her own natural creams – manicures and electrolysis for hair removal.
The salon was mainly visited by the wives of Ashton’s professional men – solicitors, accountants and doctors – and members of the golf club where Mary played. But by 1970 the changing fashions meant that beauty was becoming big business and the salon moved downstairs into its current premises.
Suzanne, who learned the trade with her grandmother’s guidance, said: "When I was eight I used to help her make her face creams. I had to mix them all by hand and when I was about 15 I started working for her at the weekends. By 17 I wanted to be a teacher but Nana was in her 70s and wanted to retire."
Mary died in 1997, aged 90, but lived long enough to see her salon used by a growing number of women.
Over the years the salon has seen trends come and go. In the 60s, the popularity of the mini skirt meant more women asked for waxing, and false eyelashes were popular. In the 70s more natural beauty products were wanted and the excesses of the 80s called for tanning and electric muscle toning. These days the salon has branched out into more holistic treatments including reflexology and hot stone massages.
Suzanne added: "We still work towards the beliefs that my Nana had. The atmosphere she created then is what you’d expect in a spa today. She was born before her time."
