Beauty salon dream within Mandaue mom’s reach

As a child Marylen Densing, 46, was fascinated by beauty products – make up, creams and hair treatments.

She was called “Little Miss Vain” when she would play with her mother’s things and wear them for fun.

“As early as 7 years old I already wanted to take up Cosmetology because I wanted to know how to make myself beautiful while also earning from a salon business,” said Densing.

As a daughter of farmers in Sogod town in northern Cebu, Densing’s dream to take up Cosmetology was derailed because her parents couldn’t afford to send her to school.

In the 1980s she came to Mandaue City to work in a grocery store in the public market.

Nevertheless, she still nurtured her dream of studying cosmetology and setting up a salon.

After working for five years, an opportunity presented itself in 1989. St. Joseph’s Academy and Saint Theresa’s College offered a workshop for out-of-school-youths like her. One course was Cosmetology.

She grabbed the opportunity to learn. Since she was a good employee, her boss allowed her to join the workshop and even paid the workshop fee.

She graduated after 10 months and stopped working at the grocery to pursue her dream.

“My boss was kind enough to allow me to stop working and gave me his blessings to work on what I really loved,” said Densing.

She started by working in a small salon in Danao City in northern Cebu in 1990.

For two years she learned the ropes. Eventually salon clients would ask her to do home service.

Densing, who lives in barangay Guizo, Mandaue City, starts her day at 7 a.m. to serve clients in their homes, and sometimes ends at dawn.

She cuts hair, handles hair treatments like rebonding, relaxing and color as well as makeup service for weddings.

At home she slowly set up her living room to service walk-in clients.

Densing said her only investment was a pair of scissors, a comb and basic equipment like a hair blower.

The home-based business earns for her P200 to P3,000 per day depending on the service she handles.

Densing said she’s slowly training her two daughters to assist her.

“My goal is to set up a salon near home so I’m slowly buying equipment I’ll need when I can find a place for rent,” said Densing.

Densing is one of the top 20 women entrepreneurs in Mandaue City selected for the Search for WINNERS or Women In Need Now Entrepreneurs organized by Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the annual Mandaue Business Month last August.