After 44 years of operating her own business, hairdresser Joan Reiter has closed the doors of Mayfair Beauty Salon because of what she described as "cutthroat'' competition and a lack of commercial space.

"I feel very badly about closing,'' she said. "There are too many hairdressers operating these days. It's too competitive. I hate to think that I am being forced to close my business. I would have preferred to have closed when I want to close.'' Mrs. Reiter, 65, is the wife of Fritz Reiter. The couple own the Lobster Pot and Port 'O' Call restaurants in Hamilton. They also own a restaurant in Florida.

Mrs. Reiter said her business at the Leslie A. White building on Church St.

began failing last year when two of her hairdressers quit Mayfair and bought Images on Pitts Bay Rd. Mayfair had also been given notice to leave the Leslie A. White building on Church St. which is to be redeveloped as an office block and Mrs. Reiter said she was unable to find new space for the salon. But in the main she blames the two former employees. Business fell off from 200 customers a week to about 80 a week when they left.

"They took all my clients with them,'' she alleged. Mrs. Reiter has since sued Doreen Koban and Christine Ness for breach of contract and solicitation of her clients. She claims that the contract with the two hairdressers does not allow them to work or to solicit customers for one year after they quit.

The case is scheduled to go to court in July. Mrs. Reiter also made an unsuccessful attempt in December to get a court injunction to close Images.

Mrs. Ness said she and Mrs. Koban had a right to work and support themselves.

"The clients made their own choice to come over here,'' Mrs. Ness said. She added that when Images came on the market Reiter had been given the chance to buy the company but turned down the offer. The two hairdressers then decided to buy Images because of Mayfair's uncertain position.

Mrs. Reiter said she didn't buy Images because the $100,000 asking price was too high.

Now that she has closed down Mayfair Mrs. Reiter intends to "relax'' for a while and help her husband run the restaurants. She also regrets having to let her four employees go. Two of the Bermudians have found positions elsewhere.