Terminally ill with cancer, one of Betty O’Shea’s last wishes was for her daughter to follow her lifelong dream of opening a beauty salon.
Heartbroken yet inspired by her courageous mum, Kirsty O’Shea Johnstone did just that, opening Dollshouse Hair and Beauty Rooms – initially in Peterculter before moving to Cults – three weeks after Betty passed away.
“The story behind Dollshouse is quite a sad one as my mum Betty was terminally ill and she came to live with us at the end,” says Kirsty.
“She used to say to me, ‘you need to open your own place, you need to go out on your own sweetheart and be your own boss’.
“She also got me to think of names and she eventually came up with the name Dollshouse because it was cute and that’s how Dollshouse formed.
“She passed away in 2014 and three weeks later I opened Dollhouse – I think that’s what kept me going.”
Award-winning salon
Eight years on and it’s safe to say that Betty would be unbelievably proud of her talented daughter whose passion for helping people feel good about themselves has quickly turned into an award-winning business.
“The salon became my focus as I tried to turn a negative into a positive,” says Kirsty.
“Nothing will take away the pain that you go through but I needed something nice to do.
“The salon is a little bit that she left behind for us.”
Determination to succeed
Listening to Kirsty’s back story, it’s clear that she has her mum’s inner strength.
Falling pregnant at 19 while training to be cabin crew for an airline, Kirsty instead decided to pursue her lifelong love of beauty and signed up for a college course in the subject.
“I went straight to college when I was pregnant,” says Kirsty.
“I just went for it, it wasn’t daunting going to college while pregnant as I was looking forward to doing two of my favourite things, being a mum and becoming a beauty therapist.”
Beauty therapist/people therapist
Walking straight into a job at the prestigious Gleneagles Hotel, Kirsty juggled being a single mum to her daughter Lucy while putting her heart and soul into being the best therapist she could be.
“Gleneagles was where I learned to be not only a beauty therapist but also a people therapist,” says Kirsty.
“The customer service they instilled in me made me become capable of doing two jobs, being a mum and a professional.”
Beautiful opportunity
After meeting her husband, who worked offshore in Aberdeen, Kirsty moved up to the Granite City in 2007 where she worked for high-end beauty brands like Chanel and Elemis before teaching beauty therapy at North East Scotland College.
Spotting a gap in the market for a beauty salon and with her mum’s eternal faith in her, Kirsty opened her first salon in Peterculter in 2014.
With word of mouth spreading about Kirsty’s bespoke beauty salon, it wasn’t long before Dollshouse outgrew its location.
“I used to drive by this shop in Cults that I thought looked like a dollshouse,” says Kirsty.
“One day, I decided to go into the shop and just said to the woman who owned that if ever she decided to sell it, I would be interested.
“Not long after that, she phoned me to say she was leaving so I bought it and we opened in Cults in January 2017.
“It was special moment as I felt that I was turning my hobby into a proper business and I knew that I could expand my team.”
Deluxe facial
Describing her talented team as “family”, there are no beauty treatments that the salon doesn’t offer.
“We offer everything from your gel nails, nail extensions, basically all your nail treatments to massage,” says Kirsty.
“Our signature facial, the Dolls Deluxe facial, has become so popular.
“It’s a working facial so it involves a Microdermabrasion, Glyco Peel and LED mask.”
Hairdresser
From lashes, hair and waxing to fake tan and semi-permanent make-up, every kind of beauty treatment is available at Dollshouse.
“Our hairdresser was Scottish hairdresser of the year and we also have a GP who comes in to do aesthetics,” says Kirsty.
With five therapists, a hairdresser and an aesthetics specialist, Kirsty feels that she has a really strong team of staff.
And seeing one of her therapists, Caelin Reid, take home best brow artist at The Scottish Hair and Beauty Awards was a proud moment for Kirsty.
“I feel like I’ve got a really strong, nice team and everyone seems really happy,” says Kirsty.
“I’m so proud of them all.”
For more information about Dollshouse Hair and Beauty Rooms check out their website, Instagram and Facebook.
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