It was Edith Piaf, who sang Je ne regrette rien but it is a sentiment fellow country woman France Baudet can identify with. As owner of the Cannelle Beaute salon business, which has seen turnover rise by 40 per cent over the past five years, she is sitting pretty.

Latest research from market analysts Mintel shows two out of every three women want to look well groomed and are splashing out more on salon treatments.

Add the popularity of TV programmes such as Ten Years Younger and How To Look Good Naked and it is easy to see why the beauty industry is in such good shape.

Ms Baudet set up her first salon 14 years ago after moving to Oxford and finding herself unimpressed with what was on offer.

She said: “I loved going to the beauty salon in France. My mother took me with her from when I was 16, which is typical.

“In France, personal grooming is taken very seriously. It is not seen as indulgent but an essential part of a busy woman or man’s schedule.”

Ms Baudet’s biggest barrier to starting her own business here was that she spoke virtually no English and had no beauty therapy training.

She said: “It was mad but I am the sort of person who needs a challenge. I had sold my house in France, so had a little bit of capital.”

The first bank she approached was less than enthusiastic.

“Here I was, this French woman who could not speak great English, was not a beautician but wanted to open a beauty salon.

“The bank didn’t give me any help and charged me the highest rates on my credit card. I had to prove myself to everyone.”

Juggling her role as the mother of two young children, she enrolled on a language course and volunteered for the Red Cross to improve her English.

“To start a business in France would have been easier from a language point of view but the bureaucracy there is terrible,” she explained.

“I moved to another bank who were helpful and could see beyond the fact I was French and wasn’t a beauty therapist.”

In fact, Ms Baudet, 54, had already shown herself to be astute in her native country, chalking up a business management degree and rising to the position of sales manager in a Paris-based packaging company.

Her Summertown-based venture Cannelle Beaute, with its emphasis on French-style beauty treatments, flourished and four years later she opened a second salon in Henley.

She later added a concession in St Ebbes-based health club LA Fitness, and is searching for franchisees to help her expand the brand to other parts of the country.

She believes the fact she is not a trained beauty therapist is an asset.

“I would be lost if I was giving treatments and dealing with clients on a day-to-day basis.

“You can’t do everything and, if you are too hands-on, you can’t manage the business properly.”

Taking a bold approach has paid off. Along with the basics of manicures, pedicures, waxing and facials, she has invested heavily in technology to enable her to offer treatments less commonly available.

Techniques such as Intense Pulsed Light which uses laser techniques for permanent hair removal, or reduction and non-surgical facelifts require expensive equipment and, as the technology is constantly evolving, these can become obsolete quickly.

Ms Baudet explained: “Eighteen months ago in the middle of the credit crunch, I had to decide whether to spend £20,000 on two machines — one for Oxford and the other for Henley — so I could offer the latest non-surgical facelifts.

“I was worried about investing that amount of money but they have proved to be extremely popular and are booked for 80 per cent of the time.”

She believes strongly in incentives for her staff. If the salons meet a collective sales target, they are taken to stay at a four-star hotel in London, complete with trip to the theatre and spa, so they become the clients.

Almost half her clients are in the 25-45 age range but as she pointed out: “Women in their 40s and 50s have more money to spend on looking good.”

Since the first salon opened, the proportion of male clients has increased hugely.

Ms Baudet said; “In France, it is not considered at all effeminate for a man to go to a salon and have a manicure, facial, or other treatment, and we are seeing this trend here now, too.

“Of course, the recession has had an effect but we focus on offering the best treatments and service and having the best staff. That is what makes the clients continue to come.”