GOING solo is something hairdresser Val Steele has always wanted to do and now her dream has finally come true after she opened her own salon.

Val, 35, from Stramongate, Kendal, has travelled the world picking up tips from the best in the industry and now hopes to show people what she can do.

After growing up in Africa, she has always been keen on travelling, with stints as a hairdresser in a Bermudan hotel, on the high seas styling aboard cruise ships, and she has even pampered the Sultan of Oman and the Omani royal family.

Val says her desire to be a hairdresser comes from having the creative blood in the family: "I enjoy things like drawing and creating things and it just took off from there. I did my friends' hair and it just came naturally that I should be a hairdresser and I just thought I'll go and do that."

After entering a partnership and running Hair Bazaar on Highgate with her friend for three years, Val always wanted to have her own place so she could make all the decisions herself.

The salon is aptly named Solo and Val has even designed the interior herself in a shade of walnut that includes large mirrors, a wooden floor and funky flowers.

Val decided to move back to Kendal because her family lives here and Solo is situated in the town centre along Stramongate.

She says the secret to success is hard work: "It is important to be honest and offer the best possible service. If customers are happy and say they will come back that will make me happy."