A hairdresser is looking forward to retiring and spending time with her family and husband after 50 years of being a hairdresser.

Businesswoman Tina Holliday, 64, of Tyne Valley, believes 'now is the time to retire' after selling her hairdressing business Oak's Hair studio in Stocksfield.

Tina has been a hairdresser since she was 15 years old and has worked in several hairdressers and worked in a hair salon on a cruise ship.

After traveling and working for other people, the opportunity came about in 1997 for her to buy Oaks Hair Studio. 

Now, just before, the 25 anniversary of the business, she thinks it is now 'the right time to retire and spend time with her newly wedded husband and family.

"The business suffered during Covid, where we lost a lot of staff and could not replace them. 

"I could not carry on running it by myself and with being recently married last year, I wanted to spend time with them. So that helped the decision for me to retire.

"It has been a great career and I have worked on a cruise and several businesses, and I  owned a business before Oaks."

Although the decision was made and a buyer already announced, Tina was unsure of how her customers would react.

"I found it hard to tell my customers that I had made the decision and after I signed the property over to the new owner, I could not tell anyone until it was official," She said.

"Initially, I wanted to tell my customers and gently help them find another hairdresser who they would be comfortable with.

"But the way things turned out, it could not happen. But they have all found somewhere else now and seem to be happy.

"I still feel guilty but the decision was best for me. I do not think I could carry on standing around for eight hours each day.

"Although I have retired, I have been asked to help with training sessions for business that I had previously worked at, but I will still have plenty of time to myself."