An award-winning salon owner overcame anxiety and depression to build her business from the ground up after leaving school with just two GCSEs.
Sophie Bailey, owner of the Sk!n Cosmetic Clinic on Windsor Road, Walton, started a full-time office job at the age of 15 after leaving school with just two qualifications in Spanish and P.E. The mum-of-two dived into the world of cosmetics in 2021 after struggling with stress, anxiety and depression - and quickly attracted enough regulars to open her own salon.
She said: "I left school with next to no GCSEs, and people do think it's a job people with no GCSEs go into for an easy life, but it's not. It's hard work. It's the best job in the world; I get up every day making people feel good about themselves, and it makes me feel good as well. It's more than people think it is."
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Sophie, 32, from Maghull, gave up her office job in 2021 to look after her oldest son, 10-year-old Daniel, who has autism and ADHD.
She said: "He was going to breakfast and after-school clubs every day, and I was constantly being called to the school for meetings. He was excluded from two schools; it was a nightmare, and with the hours I was working it was all too much. I had to leave my job, and I ended up with depression and anxiety.
"It was horrendous. I didn't want to leave the house. I thought people were looking down on me because I wasn't in work. I wouldn't even walk my kids into the playground because I didn't want to speak to anyone.
"My whole routine had gone to pot, and I was thinking of what work I could do during school hours. I always loved having my nails and eyelashes done, and I thought 'that's me'."
Sophie enrolled on a beauty course at Hugh Baird College, earning distinctions in all her exams while working part-time at the Little House Of Aesthetics in Bootle.
She said: "When I left school I went into work straight away. I didn't have anything. I wasn't very good in school - I got PE and Spanish, but other than that I had nothing.
"It was daunting going back to education, but I knew it was going to be for the best. I couldn't stand not working, not doing anything for myself, not being able to provide for my kids. It was the only option I had.
"I actually enrolled twice. The first time, they asked me to go to an open evening and I couldn't even conjure up the courage to go. A couple of weeks later, I ended up going down."
Since completing her course and taking her first steps in the beauty industry, Sophie has already earned official recognition of her skills, winning the Eve Taylor student of the year award in 2022.
She was also named runner-up in the best beauty therapist category of the National Beauty Awards, and was a finalist in the Worldskills UK Up and Coming Beauty Therapist competition.
She said: "My whole life has changed rapidly in the space of a year. I was working at the House of Aesthetics, and with the money I saved I paid for my courses in nails and lashes. With the money I was earning, I ended up outgrowing the shop I was working in and had a big enough clientele to open my own shop in December 2022.
My confidence is so much better. Now I spend more time with my children and there's been a massive improvement. Before, (Daniel) was tired, he was angry, he was upset. He used to dread going to school, it was a battle every morning - now he goes absolutely fine."
She added: "I think beauty therapists don't get enough credit for what we do. Most people see it as an easy go-to when you have no GCSEs but it's a lot more than that.
"The way the world is now, with social media and influencers, there is so much pressure on how we look, and it's us that helps people to look and feel their best.
"It's us beauty therapists, hair dressers that make people get up every morning and feel good in themselves and it's us that gives them a confidence boost. I think this message needs to be heard more, especially in the world we live in today. We are more than beauty therapists."
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