HAVING recently celebrated their 25th anniversary, Facial Attraction has become a key part of the Pontypool community.

The Beauty Salon celebrated the landmark with an open day, where customers were invited down for make-up demonstrations, to take part in a raffle with a top prize of a £50 voucher at the salon, and to raise money for Velindre Cancer Centre.

Owner Lauren Hayes took over in 2012 after previously working at the salon.

She said: “I want my customers to leave feeling amazing. I have customers who are teachers and nurses, so with such high pressure jobs I want them to be able to relax.

“After taking over, I did surveys on how to improve the salon. For example, some of our customers didn’t like the radio being on KISS, so we changed it. They are the ones who shop here, so they should have a say in how it is run.

“It’s a bit more intimate than bigger, national stores. We can have one-to-one, quite personal conversations with our customers. We are a bit like an agony aunt, but it also works the other way sometimes. It’s just so enjoyable, I love my job.

“It’s like a family.”

Miss Hayes has been involved in a lot of work in the community. In 2013, she did a charity skydive in Swansea, raising around £1,500 for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust in memory of a friend, Sarah Gregory.

She has also raised £1,200 for a local nursery.

“I try to do something every year,” she said. “Everybody wants to help with the fundraising. We had people knitting dolls for the nursery when we were raising money for them.

“Last year I raised money for my daughter’s school. I have now got the staff to agree to do a sponsored climb up a mountain for Velindre.”