WATCH: End of an era for Greig Street hairdresser Carol Ann as owner retires after 39 years
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IT WAS 1983 when Carol Ann Adam's husband came back to their home in Forres and told her "I got you a hair salon!".
"What?" she replied. Aged 25, the Inverness hairdresser took on a lease for two years of what used to be a baby shop at 4 Greig Street, opening on July 4 that year.
Almost four decades on, a life dedicated to make her clients look and feel great, a chapter is closing for Carol Ann's hairdressing salon, as the hairstyling veteran has seized the opportunity to step back from te busy salon life.
"I can't believe that I have been here for 39 years," she said. "It seems like I opened it yesterday to me.
"I loved what I did, I was married to my job.
"I always tried to keep up to date with the latest hairstyle trends. Customers loved it, they always left here happy, and that's a part of my job that filled me with pride."
Although Carol Ann's salon as we know it has officially closed on Saturday, November 26, her legacy will be taken up by a new hair stylist, Katie Woolley (27).
The young talent, who has twelve years of experience in salons and barber shops behind her, will be opening a new unisex salon under her own name on December 1, with the help of her mother Lisa Farren, who had been working with Carol Ann for 11 years.
Mrs Adam said she wished her all the best: "Hopefully, she keeps telling me, she might do it for as long as I did!
"I know she'll do well. If you love your job and do it well, she'll surely make it.
"To be honest, it was easy for me, because I loved it and I am going to miss it."
She recalls the days when she first opened the salon, back in the 80s
"It was so different back then," she said. "In those days clients came in and sat with a cup of tea and a cigarette in their hand.
"It was like a wee social club for them, they'd come in and blether away about their day to day, and they made friends coming in here.
"Of course time have moved on, some of my older clients have sadly passed away. The younger generation comes in and of course, the latest fashion – the blow-dry, the highlights, and other styles...
With so many years of service in the industry, Carol Ann has seen fashion changing repeatedly throughout the years.
"Over the years I have done shaggy cuts, pageboy style – a very 70s style. There have been so many changes and so many variations over the years.
"Today is mostly undercuts, fashion colours...
"Do you know one thing that never changed? The bob – you can never go wrong with a classic. Or pixie, which is very good for the older clientele, it makes them look younger."
"I always think it's really important to make yourself look good, whether that's hair, nails, your shoes...you are ready to face the whole world, whatever that throws at you."
Over the years, Carol Ann broadened her expertise and the offer of the salon from hair styling to getting certificates in other types of therapy such as reiki, Bach flowers and various types of massage, among others.
Now, Carol Ann is looking forward to having more free time on her hands.
"It's been an amazing rollercoaster, loved every minute of it. I have felt very emotional in the last few days.
"I have a small croft with ducks and a goose – maybe we will travel somewhere...who knows, it might be a new adventure for me!"
