Ruth Bell loves a good chat. "A lot of my customers say I don't ever shut up, " laughs the hair stylist.

"I love meeting all the different people. I like to tell them what I've been doing, and find out what they've been up to."

Ruth, 21, is one of an 11-strong team working at Serene hair salon in Highgate Road, Clayton Heights. The salon is in the process of setting up as a training school where - from September - students will be able to learn all they need to know about hairdressing, and Ruth is thrilled to be involved.

"We are hoping to take between 15 and 20 students training towards City and Guilds qualifications, which will be great, " she says.

The former pupil of Queensbury Upper School, who lives at Horton Bank Top, has worked at Serene for four years. She followed her mum into the profession. "She was a hairdresser so I was brought up around it. Mum always did my hair when I was little."

Ruth took NVQ level 2 and 3 exams before joining Serene, working under the expert guidance of proprietor Helen Taylor, lecturer in hair and beauty at Bradford College.

Many of her clients are regulars.

"Some have been coming to me for years, " she says. "You get to know them really well and build up a good relationship with them. We have grandmothers, mums and daughters from the same family coming - that is really nice to see."

Requests for different hair styles are many and varied and, if it is humanly possible, Ruth will oblige. People still bring in pictures torn from glossy magazines, which, depending on the person's hair - the colour and texture - can be difficult to copy. And sometimes what they have chosen could be too radical a decision. "I do a proper consultation with them beforehand, to tell them what is possible and what will suit their hair type, and ask them why they have made the choice, " she says.

There are others who give Ruth a completely free rein. "They are looking for a complete change and say, 'Oh, do whatever you want', so I will talk to them and run through some ideas. Some people insist on something wacky and I like being adventurous - I did a girl's hair the other day with brilliant flashes of pink and purple - it looked fantastic."

Standing up all day does not bother Ruth: "You get used to it - it's part of the job."

Working with a team of women, she loves the atmosphere in the salon. "We all get on really well, it is very friendly."

Ruth is aware that her profession puts her at the back and call of friends.

"They often ask if I can do their hair. If I've got time I don't mind, but it can be a nightmare. I once went on a girls' holiday to Majorca and every night they all asked me to do their hair, " she laughs.

"So when they were all ready to go out, I wasn't."