2’s Company hair salon in Dumfries closes after 33 years

Dumfries businesswoman Tracy Sweetman reflects on her career in hairdressing as she closes her popular Dumfries salon, 2’s Company, after 33 years.

Tracy Sweetman was just 20 when she started running her own business. Now, after 33 years at the helm of 2’s Company, she’s decided to close the much-loved Dumfries hair salon, paying tribute to the enduring support of her customers – who come from far and wide – for the success and longevity of her business.

“We wouldn’t have stayed open this long if we didn’t have loyal customers. They come from all over and they have been coming for a long time. I have a woman who comes from Crawford, someone from Newton Stewart, and a lad who was born in 1996 and I don’t think he has ever had another hairdresser.

Tracy and Margaret Radley, who started as her apprentice when she was 16 (Image: Allan Devlin) “Business in Dumfries up until now has been great, but now everything seems to be harder, and I feel it’s the right time to close the salon; I don’t want to get fed up,” Tracy says.

After much thought and soul-searching, she posted news of “the huge decision” on social media on June 17 and has been inundated with messages from customers and the local business community, wishing Tracy well – and worrying about where they’ll get their hair done in the future.

But as she explains, the salon is about so much more than just hair: “It’s family. I was here when I was 16 and I’m still looking after some of the ladies who came to me then. They’ve seen me grow up and I’ve seen them grow.

Tracy, right, with Susan Shepherd when they rook on the business in 1991 (Image: Allan Devlin) “We’ve been through everything together: deaths, births, marriages. The births of all my dogs. You make a connection with your clients.

“We have seen people though a lot, and they have seen us through a lot, too. It’s not just doing hair, it’s therapy, and obviously, some things never ever leave the salon.”

From Mouswald, where she and husband Sandy, and their dog Mylo live, Tracy had originally flirted with the idea of joining the army when she was still at Dumfries High School: “I was quite into fitness, and I thought I would be a nurse in the army. It had been in my head for quite a while, but I didn’t do anything about it. Then, when I was 16, I thought I would go and be a hairdresser. I saw a job advertised for Marilyn’s Professional Salon and got the job.”

Neighbouring business owner Fiona Hyslop pops in for a cut (Image: Allan Devlin) The year was 1986. Marilyn had opened her salon in the July, Tracy started in the September. The Communards, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Peter Cetera, Cutting Crew, Eurythmics, and Madonna were riding high in the music charts, fashion was bold and bright, crop tops, shoulder pads and power suits were in, and the hair was big, curly, coiffed, and as bouffant as it could.

“I was very colourful, and 80s hair was about being as big as it could be,” Tracy recalls. “Big perms, big hair: you would be blow drying til your wrists fell off. That’s why I now go to physio every three weeks, for my wrists, neck and shoulders. The hairdryers back then were so heavy, and so noisy. Now they’re much quicker, lighter and better for your hair.”

Tracy, who has cut, curled, coloured, shaved, styled, straightened and blow-dried the hair on more than 76,000 heads since she started hairdressing, has seen many changes in the industry over the last 38 years, from styles and trends to techniques, products and prices.

An original price list from 1991 (Image: Allan Devlin) “I hated doing spiral perms in the late 80s and early 90s. I love doing short, textured cuts, and my favourites are my regular ladies who come in every week.

“People used to come in and go through the style books; now they show us pictures on their phone. Sometimes it’s of people from Emmerdale or Coronation Street, or even a woman from the Just Eat advert! Mullets are back, but I’m not sure how long for, we do sometimes still use the bleach cap, and in the 90s I did get asked for The Rachel [the layered haircut made famous by Jennifer Anniston in Friends].

“There have been a few disappointments, when people bring in a picture and expect to go out looking like that person. ‘We can do the hair, but we can’t do the face,’ we say.”

Tracy and Margaret discuss 50 shades of hair dye (Image: Allan Devlin) All of Tracy’s training has been done on the job, from when she started with Marilyn. Susan Shepherd joined the team, and for a time, Tracy Little (former Provost of Dumfries) also worked in the salon.

When Mairlyn announced that she was going to sell the business, in April 1991, Tracy and Susan decided to go into partnership and take it on.

“Training is supposed to take four to five years and by the end of my training, I owned the salon,” she says.

“I don’t think I really thought about it; about how a big a deal it was. It was a case of buying the business, or looking for a new job.”

With the cards Tracey received when she first took on 2's Company (Image: Allan Devlin) Tracy still has all the good luck and congratulations cards she and Susan were given at the time they opened their salon – which they renamed 2’s Company – as well as a photo of the, looking for all the world like 80s pop stars, and a price list. Back in 1991, a cut and blow dry would cost you £10; a shampoo and set £5.20; the top price colour with cut was £23, and perms were from £26.

When Susan left in 1998, after having her children, Tracy took on the business and has run it herself ever since. “I’ve never had a break from work. People think when you run your own business you have it easy, but I’ve probably only ever had a fortnight off once or twice in all that time. When you work for yourself, you know exactly how much it costs to take time off.”

Tracy has taken on a number of staff over the years, including Margaret Radley from Lochmaben, who joined in 1996.

With the cards Tracey received when she first took on 2's Company (Image: Allan Devlin) “I had no idea what I wanted to when I left Lockerbie Academy,” Margaret says.

“I went down the street when I was 16, looked in the Job Centre and saw the job. It was the first interview I’d ever had, and here I am 28 years later.

“What I love is that every day is different, and you meet a lot of interesting people.”

While she and Tracy have some ideas about their next ventures – neither will confirm if they are hanging up their scissors for good – both are keeping those post-salon plans close to their chests for now.

But they both say that what they will miss most when they part company from 2’s Company are the people, and the generations of clients they’ve looked after – “we know these people inside out”. They were gearing up for an emotional last day on July 6, but looking forward to a well-earned break.

And while “what happens in the salon stays in the salon,” Tracy was happy to share that, if she had the chance to cut the hair of any person in the world, it would be former Prime Minister Boris Johnson…