HAIR-raising the standards! That's a Bury hair salon owner who is certainly not on the fringe of his profession.

For Anton Popadich's expertise has been harnessed to teach the Yanks a thing or two about customer care.

The 38-year-old businessman, who runs the popular Antony for Hair salon in Tithebarn Street, has just returned home after delivering a series of lectures in Florida, USA.

He said: "I spoke to many hair salon owners. The invitation came from an education company called 365. I gave lectures to groups of 10 and 20, all from hair salons in Florida.

"The salons over there are a lot bigger but they tend to be a little behind in terms of the way they actually look at the business and do hair. They are not as forward-focused as we are in the UK."

Antony's lectures concentrated heavily on customer care and business planning.

"The audience was very receptive," he added. "My talk was aimed at developing their listening skills and also on what I term the actual shampoo experience. It should be a relaxing experience and those running hair salons should also take into account the temperature of the water and whether clients prefer a firm or light massage.

"To a lot of people, that's the most important aspect of a salon. Getting a great shampoo can actually add to the value of the business."

Antony, who left school with no qualifications, has had his 22-strong Bury salon for the past 13 years. And he is adamant that British salons are way ahead of their American counterparts in virtually all aspects of hairdressing.

He has been invited back by 365 to undertake another programme of lectures in Atlanta this July.

And his salon and stylists have gained international exposure thanks to a newly-published photo shoot for top trade magazine, Nobu.

Antony, assisted by colleagues John Wilsdon and Yvonne Louise, displayed their styling skills with the help of five models. Clothes for the feature were provided by Oasis of Bury