The Northern Echo wants to find the best beauty salon in the region - and now it's time to showcase our nominees.

We are on the hunt for the best beauty salon in the whole of the North East, and doing so we are speaking to each our nominees to find out a bit more about them.

Today we will focus on one of our finalists: Upper Class Aesthetics on Houndsgate in Darlington.

Owner Hannah Hammond, 35, has been based at the salon for the last two and a half years and says business has gone "wild".

Hannah's story to get to where she is now is one of determination - as she spoke to us about the journey she has been on.

She said: "When I was younger I was completing a hairdressing apprenticeship but my little boy suddenly became ill. He was six and a half years old when he was diagnosed with a brain tumour.

"I then had to leave and he died four days before his ninth birthday. After that, there was no support for us and we went bankrupt.

"Shortly after I became pregnant with my little girl and was looking into courses I could complete - so I chose to go into botox and began the business in my home."

Hannah then ended up renting a room at a hairdresser before moving to Houndsgate. She now has a team of her own, offering services including botox, fillers, lashes, microblading, and more.

She added: "It feels amazing to have been nominated."

Readers can now vote for their ‘Best Beauty Salon 2024’ by picking up copies of The Northern Echo in the days to follow as we profile the rest of the lucky finalists.

Recommended:

Get more content including the stories that matter to your community from The Northern Echo for just £1 for 1 month for a limited time only here.

The Northern Echo editor Gavin Foster said: "The Best Beauty Salon competition gives us an opportunity to put the spotlight on some great businesses across the region.

“That's why we’re delighted to launch our search for the Best Beauty Salon to help put them on the map and celebrate all that they do.

"Nominations are open now and we’ll be bringing you updates on those shortlisted in our competition – so keep an eye out to see if your favourite is featured and for more information on how to vote.”