When Nicola Kenny was critically ill in hospital with Covid-19 last October two things gave her the will to live - her children and her business.

“Doctors hugged me and said they didn’t think I would be leaving hospital,” she said, “But I was determined to survive. My children needed me and I was just opening my own salon.”

Against all the odds, Nicola survived and her body sculpting and aesthetics business in Bridge Street - named after the Roman goddess of youth Juventus – is now going from strength to strength.

At the official launch this month, an emotional Nicola welcomed guests when the Mayor of Bolton, Cllr Akhtar Zaman, cut the ribbon and wished her well.

This latest chapter in Nicola’s life takes her further away from a difficult childhood when she was badly neglected and ended up in care at three.

She was adopted at the age of nine by loving parents.

When a nursing career failed to work out, she began training in “fat freezing” techniques and was offered a job with the training salon. “But I wanted to have my own salon offering all kinds of treatments like HIFU (High Intensity Focused Ultrasound) which uses radio frequency to tighten the skin and increase collagen levels,” she explained.

After a bad experience with cosmetic surgery, Nicola wanted to only employ non-invasive techniques for her own business. Last year she came across a product called Liquid Lipo, created by scientist Kirsty Smith, to use with machine treatments.

“Most celebrities are now moving away from invasive treatments to non-invasive ones,” she added. “This is what everyone is asking for and the results have been amazing.”

Now Nicola is finding her body sculpting treatments are proving popular with women – and men – wanting to improve the shape they are in. “Men also like the non-surgical facelift and the hair restoration,” she added.

Nicola is delighted to finally have her own salon up and running and praised her “loyal clients”. Unfortunately, she was left with Long Covid and is only now starting to return to better health.

She is planning positively, however, and wants to start a training academy to pass on her skills and ethos.

“I’ve always just wanted to help people,” she stated, “and I’m very grateful to the people who have helped me with my business.”