Laura Adams, Tracey Power, Michelle Waters and Marlene Falcone.

By Autumn Corcoran

Marlene Falcone is a Hair and Wig Specialist based in Waterford City. Having styled
hair in a bustling salon in Liverpool for several years, and working alongside giants in
the hair industry, like Lee Stafford, Marlene moved back to Waterford and opened up
her own salon from her home on the Dunmore Road. Offering a more relaxed,
one-on-one experience for her clients, Marlene is expanding in the world of hair and
wig styling.

Marlene has worked in hair salons and barbers since the tender age of 15. She spent
many evenings and Saturdays working on her craft and gaining as much experience
as possible during that time. When asked why she decided to work in the
hairdressing industry, Marlene said: “I’ve always had an interest in it, I worked in
salons and barbers when I was young and all through school, it really just progressed
from there. I always knew that it was something I wanted to do”.

When Marlene moved back from Liverpool six years ago, she knew she wanted to
offer a different style of service to her clients in Waterford: “I moved home from the
UK in 2017, and I had been working in a really big salon over there, so when I came
home to Ireland, I wanted to provide a more one to one experience for my clients,
and work in a calmer environment overall”. Since opening her salon from her home
on the Dunmore Road, Marlene has enjoyed the change of pace, as well as building
a relaxed atmosphere for her clients.

However, her start was not without struggle. Having built a career in hair styling in
Liverpool, Marlene was faced with the prospect of having to start all over again:
“Having to build up my clientele again was probably my biggest struggle, when I
opened up on the Dunmore Road. I had been away for over 4 years, so my clientele
had obviously moved to different stylists”. As a testament to Marlene’s skill, many of
her previous clients returned to her when they knew she was home again: “I was very
lucky though, a lot of my clients that I had over the years came back to me when they
found out I was home, so it really didn’t take that long to build back up again”.
Marlene’s business has grown rapidly since her return to Ireland. Having recently
opened a new salon in the Six Cross Roads Business Park, Marlene ponders over
her success: “I think a lot of people are started changing their ways, they don’t really
want to go into a busy salon in town anymore, in the same sense that I wanted to
move away from that myself. People seem to be responding really well to the one on
one experience, with the same person doing your hair all the time. That was a real
selling point,it just grew very quickly”. Marlene also offers specialised wig fitting
services and wig pieces for her clients who suffer from hair loss. Marlene is extremely
passionate about this area of her business, and is delighted to offer the service to her
clients in a private room at her new salon, in order to maintain the privacy she had at
her home salon.

When asked what the future holds for her business, Marlene divulges that she would
love to expand in the area of wig services for her clients: “I just think it’s such a
sought after service, and I don’t think Waterford offers enough of that specific service.
There are a couple of wig services around Ireland, but a lot of them aren’t actual
hairdressers, so they can’t provide any additional services like colouring or cutting
the hair. I think having it all under one roof would be fantastic, and I’d love to further
expand in that area”.
To find out more about Marlene or to book an appointment, visit her website and
social media pages, Marlene Falcone Hair.

www.marlenefalconehair.ie
Tel: 086 061 8359