A hairdresser who was tired of working for a boss transformed a £300 "rotten" and "mouldy" caravan from Facebook Marketplace into a mobile hair salon."

Jaya Chester, 23, always knew she wanted to work for herself, but couldn't afford the £1,000 a month cost of hiring out a chair in a salon.

The mum of two, from Leicester had a brainwave, and found the caravan on Facebook, before spending £3,500 renovating it.

When she purchased the caravan, the walls were mouldy, and the flooring was rotten, but after five months she has completely transformed it into a stylish salon.

She now only has to pay for the cost of fuel, and said her clients have so far been "amazed" by the mobile salon. "

Jaya said: "I've never liked working for a boss and work so much better by myself,"

but I just couldn't afford to rent a whole salon, and even one chair in a salon cost £50 a day, so I decided to create my own mobile salon.



"I wanted to challenge myself to do something that hasn't been done before. "

"I found a caravan on Facebook Marketplace for £300, and I've spent £3,500 doing it up. "

"The running costs are so low, I basically just have to pay for fuel. "

"All people will have to do is walk out of their front door and then they're there. "

"I kept it a secret for ages because I didn't want anyone to steal my idea. "

"All of my clients so far have been so amazed by it." "

Jaya was sick of working for a boss, but couldn't afford the £50 a day cost of hiring out a chair in a salon.

She decided that a much cheaper way of having her own salon, would be to buy a caravan, and drive it around the local area, to visit her hairdressing clients.



She scoured Facebook Marketplace and managed to snap up an old caravan for just £300 in August 2025.

If Jaya were to hire out a chair in a salon for a month, she worked out that this would set her back £1,000.

So far she has spent £3,500 on renovating her caravan, but once it is complete, she will only have to spend money on fuel for her vehicle, saving her thousands.



When Jaya bought the caravan, it was fully kitted out with an oven, a fridge and a sink, so she ripped all of these out, just leaving the walls and the floor.

However, once she had removed the appliances, she realised the walls were covered in mould, so had to strip the caravan down to the metal shell.

After replacing the walls, Jaya was met with another setback, when she discovered that the floorboards were rotten.



"There were so many setbacks, and I thought about giving up so many times," she said. "

However, Jaya powered through, and after five months of hard work, her mobile caravan is almost complete.



She has redone the flooring, installed a washbasin, and decked the caravan out with a large mirror, salon chair and funky paintings.



She has also filled the caravan with colouring books and crosswords, creating a quiet and peaceful haven that people will feel comfortable in.



So far, Jaya has cut the hair of a number of her regular clients in the caravan, and everyone has been very impressed.



And after the outside of the caravan is completed next week, she plans to drive it around to clients in the local area, so that she can cut their hair on their driveways.



She said: "All people will have to do is walk out of their front door and then they're there." "

Jaya also plans to take her caravan to weddings, and even festivals.

"I think loads of people would pay £20 for a wash and blow dry and a bit of pampering whilst they're at a muddy festival," she said."



As well as helping her to save money, Jaya's aim is to also help people who are unable to head into town to go to the hairdressers themselves.



"I really want to help people that aren't able to get out," she said."



She shares her story on @marliastudio.