For years, Jacquelyn Young travelled the world, working at spas on luxury cruise ships.
In Madison, Wisconsin, she trained to become a cosmetologist.
During her adventures, she met Greg from Burghead.
The pair explored the globe together on cruises.
Then they got married and had kids.
From cruises to setting up business in Lossiemouth
In 2015, they moved to Lossiemouth to settle down with their family.
This was where Younger Day Spa was born.
Jacquelyn said: “I trained as a cosmetologist in the United States in 2008.
“After I graduated I decided to work in spas in cruise ships and I loved it as I was able to work with different people.
“I was really fortunate to travel the world with it.
“I even met my now husband there too.”
Taking floor at iconic Lossiemouth building
In 2018, she began braiding children’s hair at local festivals.
She quickly found herself travelling to birthday parties and hosting pop-up hairstyling classes for parents.
After several successful months, she rented a few small rental rooms within the former Regal Cinema building at 44 Queen Street in Lossiemouth.
In the 1950s, film buffs used to flock to the building to watch the latest blockbusters.
Then it was home to popular furniture store Grampian Furnishers for 40 years before they departed for Elgin.
In 2020, she was given the opportunity to take over the first floor of the well-known building.
It was daunting as the country plummeted into lockdown causing uncertainty.
However, fast forward three years, the whole floor has therapy rooms, a wellness studio, hair salon, juice bar and much more.
There is no signs of the business’s growth slowing down.
Pictures inside the spa taken by Jason Hedges:
The 36-year-old said: “I saw a gap in the market by creating a spa with everything under one roof.
“I started in April 2018, braiding children’s hair at local festivals and then it snowballed from there.
“Later on, I rented out space at the former Regal Cinema building when it was a wellbeing centre and gym to get going.”
She added: “When the premises became empty, I approached the Clark family to take over the whole first floor.
“I took it over and then we went into the lockdown.
“It was scary as I just had a hand full of clients and a big goal of creating a premier spa.
“It was a big empty shell and I had little to no money which was intense.”
‘Sleepless nights, however it all worked out’
She said: “There was a few sleepless nights, however I was fortunate to have the support of family and friends.
“I was able to use government relief funding to invest and develop the facility to make it what it is today.
“So basically the first lockdown, I was focused on the facility and recruiting independent technicians.
“Then we opened in July 2020 and since then I have put every penny back into the business and the number of staff continue to grow.”
‘Very special to be part of people’s precious memories’
The personal touch is important for Jacquelyn.
She added: “It is really special to be part of people’s precious memories from babies’ first haircut to girls’ prom to even on some occasions part of creating people’s final memories with loved ones.
“This year has seen big growth.”
There are also other women independently operating businesses in the space offering services like sports therapy.
What is her long term vision for the business?
Jacquelyn has revealed her long-term ambitions for the business in Lossiemouth.
She said: “I would love to someday relocate to a purpose built coastal view spa facility in Lossiemouth.
“That’s the end goal with the cafe, a Zen garden, all the incredible treatments that we can find on the market and much more.
“That will take a bit of time, but I’m so proud of how far we have come despite the pandemic.”
Recently, she won Moray’s Most Enterprising Business 2023 at The Moray Business Women Annual Awards.
Conversation