Residents of a Wellington-based dementia care home are finding new enjoyment in ‘having their hair done’ ahead of the New Year celebrations in a revamped hair salon which has been announced as the winner of their care group’s ‘best in-house salon’ competition.

Camelot House and Lodge’s new salons were praised by Camelot Care’s director, Paul Teasdale, for “a thoughtful makeover that succeeds in being inclusive and welcoming to both male and female residents.”

Manager Zillah Oakes and her colleagues said they put particular emphasis on appealing to both genders in a creative brain-storming session.

Janet Needs before and after

Zillah Oakes said: “Once we’d taken care of the basics, we thought carefully about how we could make the salon user-friendly to both our ladies and our gents, and we decided reversible pictures would be a good place to start.

“So we hung a cute retro image of glamorous ladies sitting under hairdryer hoods, which can be flipped over with the other side showing a sign painted in traditional barbershop stripes and the words ‘What happens at the barbershop stays at the barbershop.’

“The images have attracted a lot of comments from our residents, and both our ladies and gents are enjoying them.

“We also provide a range of magazines - just like you used to find in the hairdressers or barbers back in the day - and we can swap these over to cater for either ladies or gents, depending on who we’re aiming at any given time.

“Another new addition, especially for the ladies this time, is a manicure table for their pampering sessions.

“This can be folded away into a handy carry bag to make the room less girly if any male residents want to use it. The table also has wheels so can be taken to use with ladies elsewhere in the home.”

The winning team was rewarded with a £50 donation for their residents’ fund.

Camelot Care also runs homes in Bridgwater, Plymouth and Yeovil and is an award-winning specialist dementia care provider with over 25 years experience in the sector. More details at www.camelotcare.co.uk