Behind the effortless bounce of rapper Bad Bunny’s curls on Saturday Night Live last year was a Dublin hairstylist who has begun to build a name among New York celebrities.
The Grammy winner’s look was created by Marc Ballance, who was brought in for his ability to work with short, curly, textured hair.
“I did the same thing I would do with anyone else, he loved it and requested me from then on,” he says.
Speaking from New York, Ballance is about to fly out to the south of France to style hair for client’s wedding when he answers the phone.
Is he nervous with A-list clients? “When at that level of celebrity, they are so amazing at what they do and so professional. It’s nearly easier to work with them than normal clients.”
Ballance grew up around hairdressing. His mother, a single parent, opened a south Dublin salon when he was four. “I would go from school to salon.” As a teenager he did work experience at Ballance Hair. “I remember the music blaring and everyone was in good spirits.”
He enjoyed it so much that he left school aged 15 and began training at a Dublin city centre academy and later at London’s Sassoon Acadamy. He worked on innovations at his mother’s salon in Leopardstown, which won Dublin salon of the year in 2023.
“At 23 or 24, I thought there has to be more.” He moved into styling hair for film and TV, where he’d go to Italy, Paris or Malta for jobs, including working on productions such as the Count of Monte Cristo mini-series.
It was meeting John Barrett, the late Limerick-born hair stylist to New York’s rich and famous, that began his move stateside. Barrett helped Ballance get his visa, which came through shortly before Barrett’s death in 2023. Ballance worked in Barrett’s salon which spans the penthouse level of the Bergdorf Goodman department store.
But Ballance says his experience on this side of the Atlantic “didn’t mean anything”. He had to start at the bottom working as an assistant on minimum wage.
It was a different celebrity, musician and actor Nick Jonas, and a connection from Ireland, which helped Ballance’s continued rise.
“When I first did Nick’s hair he was on a job in Ireland. We would talk about golf and the people,” says Ballance.
With most actors he worked with after on films and TV jobs in Europe, Ballance rarely saw them again.
Not so in New York. It’s a “great base”, even if celebrities aren’t living there, they will end up working there, and there are opportunities you won’t get anywhere else, he explains.
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So when Jonas came to New York in 2024 to present a Tony award, making his return to Broadway, Ballance got the call.
“Jonas ended up living here for a year and a half.” During that time, Ballance would style his hair, including for the Met Gala and began getting referrals. “That word of mouth recommendation” is really important.
Luxury salon, IGK, noting his growing client list, offered to sponsor his next visa.
Ballance feels the relationships are key at this level and being Irish has really helped.
“When you get to a level of hair, everyone is talented, so it’s how you are around people.”
Abroad: Marc Ballance in New York
Ballance will often travel to clients, working in their homes or backstage.
“So it’s how to manage their personalities and make them feel comfortable.”
Here, Irishness can be an advantage, he says.
“In other places they put people on a pedestal. But Irish people treat everyone the same way and this helps the interaction.” He adds: “When you say you are Irish the guard goes down a bit.”
For Ballance, the key difference at this level, is before the shampoo or scissors come out.
“I talk to them about what is going on, how has their hair been, what is making them come back. I spend five or ten minutes talking. I can see a client relax a little, thinking ‘they are getting me’.”
Many clients will arrive with “inspo” photos, but Ballance tries to dig a little deeper. “Inspo photos are great for an endgame but you have to figure out how to put their lifestyle on it. Are they a single mother with young kids or getting a blow-out every day?” he says.
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The industry has changed since Ballance started, with much of the work beyond the salon floor. Social media has become an important part of his job. He explains that if you do the best haircut in the world but it’s not on social then it doesn’t benefit you.
“When I started 15 years ago, you checked in and out of work. But now, if I’m not in the salon I’m on my phone booking or creating content.”
“I’m happy out where I am. I never really had end goals,” he says. “I just say yes to everything.”
New York is living up to its reputation – “it really doesn’t stop”. For Ballance, taking the same approach seems to be working.
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