Tops celebrates 40th anniversary

Tops Hair Salon & Beauty celebrated its 40th birthday last month, with owner Sandra Stevens first taking over in 1978.

Sandra first started hairdressing when she was 15 years old, working for Mr and Mrs Gardiner at Gardiner’s hair salon, located on the high pavement above Mr Gardiner’s dispensary. 

In 1978, when Mr and Mrs Gardiner retired, Sandra took over the salon at the busiest time of the year, the week before Christmas, at the age of 24, re-naming the business Tops. Tops is proud to be one of Melksham’s longest standing businesses on Melksham’s High Street. 

 In the early days, Tops had just two stylists, but Sandra built up the business and moved to larger premises in the High Street in 1992.  As the business continued to expand, Sandra moved the salon in 2004 to its present home, completely transforming the former Gowens store.  Today, the salon has 13 members of staff who are kept up to date with regular colour training from L’Oreal, cutting techniques from a renowned London educator, as well as in-salon training.

 “I’d like to say a really big thank you to all our clients who have supported us over the past 40 years,” said Sandra. “We still have quite a number who came to us in those early days and are still with us today. 

“I’d also like to say a big thank you to every member of the team who work so hard to provide a great service to our guests – we couldn’t do it without you!”

 Sandra runs the business alongside her daughters, Alexandra and Victoria.  Victoria, salon manager, joined the family-run business in 2006 and has many hairdressing achievements including winning places on the Fellowship Art Teams and working at London Fashion Week, as well as presenting models on stage at Professional Hairdresser Live. Alex, office manager, joined in 2014 and has, most recently, worked with the National Hairdressers’ Federation on their new allergy-testing kit.  They have also entered the salon into national competitions, reaching the final of Creative Head magazine’s ‘Best Local Business’ award.

 Sandra celebrated the salon’s birthday by taking the team for a surprise night out in Bath with a trip in a limo to Sub13 for a cocktail-making masterclass, followed by a meal in a private dining room at No.15 Great Pulteney Street. 

As well as their extensive list of services, Tops are now offering LVL lash lifts, hair extensions by Beauty Works, and Kerastraight, a hair smoothing treatment that lasts up to 4 months. For more information about Tops and what they offer, visit their website www.topshair.co.uk or download the mobile phone app from Google Play or the App Store by searching for Tops Hair Salon & Beauty.