For Rosa Madrigal, getting to work as a hair stylist is a childhood dream come true. She recently opened her salon, Studio M, at the Marshalltown Mall.

“Since I was five years old I wanted to do hair,” Madrigal said.

She has lived in Marshalltown since she was a kid and is a graduate of the Iowa School of Beauty. She got her feet wet working at Master Cuts and later Marla’s Headliner On Main. But Madrigal said she always wanted to open up a salon of her own.

“I thought ‘why not now, why wait until I’m older?'” Madrigal said.

The salon offers haircuts for the whole family, plus coloring, highlights, lowlights, perms and balayage, a freehand highlighting technique which is Madrigal’s speciality. She also likes creating ombr (gradually blending one color hue to another,) hair color for clients.

In addition, the salon offers hair styling and makeup application for special occasions, such as weddings and Quinceaeras. Facial waxing is also available.

Madrigal is assisted by Amber Warnell, who works at the salon Wednesdays through Saturdays. The two stylists got to know each other working at Marla’s Headliner.

“The J.C. Penny salon was the only salon on property prior to Rosa opening,” said mall general manager Ken Huge. “We are very excited to have Rosa and her staff … the mall has been looking for a salon to serve our customers for the last two years. We are very fortunate that when Rosa decided to open her own shop, that we were able to work together to make it a reality.”

Madrigal attended a beauty show in Chicago last spring, taking balayage and makeup classes. She said it is important to keep up with style trends to give clients the best service.

Looking to the future, Madrigal would like to expand her enterprise to include offering manicures and pedicures and she will be bringing aboard two bilingual employees in December.

“I’ve gotten a lot of walk-ins. Business is good. It’s busier than I expected,” Madrigal concluded.

The salon is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sundays noon to 5 p.m. To make an appointment, contact the salon at 641-753-1274.

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Contact Sara Jordan-Heintz at 641-753-6611 or sjordan@timesrepublican.com