I needed a lil pampering and a simple style to hold me over for a while. Ms. Marlene hooked me up lovely! I've seen her work; whether you're looking for fancy, simple, or specific, shes got the magic hands to get it done! In addition to doing a great job styling, shes very attentive to your comfort during the process (checking temperature of the water/heat and tightness of your hair). She's also the perfect mix of professional and personable. And sidenote, in these days of covid she and her coworkers keep the shop clean, sanitized, and socially distanced (including temp checks, masks, hand sanitizer, and makeshift partitions for added safety). I was very comfortable in the shop and appreciated their efforts to keep us all safe. read more

See all

As a busy professional with locs it's challenging to find a beautician that will accommodate my 9 to 5 weekday schedule. Even in a city as diverse and progressive as NYC most salons do not cater to maintaining natural African American hair so our options as professionals with locs are limited. I used Yelp and called around to numerous salons only to discover that they all took their last appointment at 5 or maybe 6 which wouldn't be enough time for me to get there after I leave my office. Not willing to sacrifice my Saturdays just to get my hair did I'm so glad I finally found Marlene! I've been wearing my hair natural since I was 17 years old and I've had my locs for 8 years. I've dealt with countless locticians over the years from the DMV (DC, MD, VA) to NYC and Marlene is by far the absolute best! She does an amazing job of cleaning my hair, twisting my locs and she's open to trying any style I bring to her! The woman is a professional and an artist! I owe my long strong healthy natural hair and the cute styles I always rock to expertise and vision as a loctician! I feel so grateful to have found her and I will always recommend her to people who ask me where I get my hair done and I will always be her loyal and dedicated cheerleader and customer! Look no further if you want someone who will have your locs looking fabulous!! read more

Brooklyn Best Loctician - The I Dream of Genie loc look by Marlene! #BigHairDontCare! - Hair Stylists Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

See all

This is a huge salon. There are more than 25 stylist seats. Each stylist has their own speciality and not everyone will know how to do what you are looking for. I called and asked for a weave pony tail with braids on each side and a pompadour in the front middle. It sounds like a mouth full. But the hair do came out fabulous. Anyways, the stylist that was scheduled to go my hair just so happened to have 1 person that literally arrived 5 minutes before me. Just my darn luck. The girl gets washed and I am thinking the stylist will simultaneously do both heads to get the job done. She washes my hair and I sat in my conditioner for about an hour. As she was braiding the other customers head. Finally, she rinses me out and goes back to braiding. Now, mind you my hair is 3C naturally curly and takes forever to get dry. I just wanted to get my hair dried. Ugh. Then next thing I notice, the damn Customer starts to antagonize the hair stylist on how she should and should not raise her damn son. Lord have mercy! I was so upset and pissed off that the customer kept on making the stylist go back and forth and nobody is getting their hair done. Meanwhile, I am almost 100% certain that hair stylist and the customer lives in Brooklyn and my ass lives in northern New Jersey. I have to be honest with you, I really wanted to leave and just walk out of the salon, but with the amount of time I already had been there, I did not want to leave with my hair not being done. The reason why I ended up waiting and staying to get my hair done because it would have been the first time getting my hair styled in a very long time because typically I wear my hair as a wash-n-go or I get a blowout from a Dominican Salon. Anyway getting back to the story, the argument continues to go back and forth the customer says that she should not spank her son and that she should use alternative methods of disciplining her child. The Stylist felt that discipline is necessary when a child is misbehaving and not listening because if she doesn't discipline her son, that her son has the potential for being murdered by a police officer. Now I wholeheartedly get the stylist points of view because black men and women are getting murdered daily all over the United States. So this is a conversation that I was unfortunately hearing and to be quite honest because I am a psychotherapist, I am a mandated reporter, and I did want to interject and tell the customer to shut the eff up, because she was wrong and that if the mom / the Stylist was being verbally or physically abusive to her son by law, I would have to report it. That is what a Mandated Reporter has to do. BUT since that did NOT take place that she should have shut up and mind her business because she has no Authority whatsoever intervening when someone else is disciplining their child. Especially, when there is no harm! Making this review shorter instead of going on; the arguing continued and to be quite honest it continued until the customer's hair was done and even as the money was exchanged, she continued to go all the way up and to the point as she was walking out of the door. I was so happy she left, but I didn't leave until almost 11:30 p.m. at night, mind you I arrived at 5pm that evening. Got home 1AM! WTF?! Ummm will I be going back to THIS spot?? hell-to-the-no! did she do a good job on my hair? hell to the yes! BUT, I don't want to be a witness of any kind to any drama whatsoever. Peace and harmony only. I just want to go to chill spot that has good customer service and have a bomb ass hair-do. Is that too much to ask for?? I don't need any kind of reality TV show b******* in person, for that I can stay at home and watch VH1 or oxygen for that matter. read more

Brooklyn Best Loctician - My bomb ass hair do. Lasted 3 weeks. - Hair Stylists Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Marlene has taken such great care of my hair. I started my loc journey back in August and she has made this transition so easy. She is so knowledgeable and wants nothing but the best for you and your hair. She is such an amazing spirit and I won't take my hair to anyone else. If you are looking to start your loc journey go to Marlene, she will take awesome care of you! read more

I forgot the name of the person I believe it was Marlene if she is located in back of shop visit started good she did a good job styling but I asked her to shave my edges in back and not knowing She shaved my loc off n didn't tell me .... I am beyond pissed I showed her the loc in question before hand ..never ever getting my buisness i give her a f for fraud... Beware going here n check your locs they might be gone . read more

Marlene is an amazing loctician. Prior to going to her, I had gotten my locs started elsewhere. I'm someone who will not settle for less in anything especially my hair. A week had passed and I just couldn't find it within myself to just settle with what a prior "loctician" had done. Especially being that locs are pretty much permanent. I spent the week looking online for different options some places wanted $100 just to start them, very long story short, I found Marlene's business on Facebook (the power of social media) I made an appointment with her, I showed her an image of the size I wanted and when I say she's nothing short of a miracle . Marlene has a great talent/ skill. She's reasonably priced, has a wonderful personality and just does an amazing job all the time, I've never walked out dissatisfied. And more importantly she listens. I will never allow anyone else to touch my hair. She just truly loves what she does and it shows in her work. read more

Marlene is quite literally my guardian angel. When I came to Marlene 5 years ago I had just moved to NYC from GA. I found her through a google search and I have never been so thankful in my life. I came to Marlene with a broken heart, broken locs (severely damaged) and honestly a broken spirit. I had wanted locs my entire life and I wasn't able to get them until I moved to a small town in GA. There was no one around to maintain them so I made a lot of bad mistakes before finding Marlene. That first visit she took me on her off day and it was just she and I in the shop. On that day we began what I like to call our five year long "hair therapy" sessions. Marlene is beyond gifted with all types of hair but locs are her pride and joy. She turned my hair from hopeless to healthy. Short and brittle to long and lucious. I finally get to walk around with my dream crown. Marlene not only shows TLC to my hair but she shows it to my heart. She's someone who has become family to me here in NYC. She's been a constant support and wisdom filled mentor. She's sweet, funny and honest. She tells you what she can and can't do. She takes her time and even though she might have several clients in the salon at once she's mastered the art of balance. She can be dying my hair while twisting another's while someone is under the dryer. Her timing is impeccable. She is always very understanding of all situations and can work with you to keep you coming back. I tell her all the time that she should have a Hollywood studio with how talented she is but she is our Hollywood stylist right here in Brooklyn. I lovingly brag that I share the same loctician as Ava Duvernay (I DO!). The most amazing thing is that while she works with A-List clients in real life, she treats everyone as if they are A-List and when you leave Marlene's chair you look good. You feel good. You are good. I am so thankful for this amazing spirit, this talented loctician and what I like to say a great mentor and friend. Sitting in Marlene's chair will change your life and you will want to be a life long customer. read more

Brooklyn's best loctician is surely Marlene! I originally found her via a google search and decided to give locs a try. I am now in my third month of the loc process and I'm so happy with both my hair and the service that Marlene provides. She is very kind, professional, and flexible with scheduling. I anticipate Marlene being my stylist for many years to come! read more

Brooklyn Best Loctician - 3 months loc'd with Marlene (back view) - Hair Stylists Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

See all

Since my first review "mysteriously" went into Yelp's not recommended section I'll repost :) Beware of businesses, companies, and individuals who claim to be the "best". This Marlene character wastes time, claims to be "booked", and doesn't quote prices beforehand. I don't know who she thinks she is but there's no way I'm going to take off work to come to her shop deep in Brooklyn just for her to assess if she can do my hair only to turn around and come back to her for another appointment, even after I've sent her pictures! She's inflexible and doesn't return calls in a timely manner. She assumes that you don't work, hence her late call backs and scheduling "consultations" all hours of the day, and world revolves around her schedule. Do yourself a favor and don't waste your time with this scammer. read more

Today, Marlene saved my 9 yrs old daughter's locs. Last April, her locs were improperly started. Marlene fixed the loose areas mid-loc and re-twisted her hair. Now I am happy and she looks wonderful. Thank you Marlene read more

Brooklyn Best Loctician - Hair Stylists Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Thank you! My hair needed to get nourished after not getting it done in so long. I looked online for a loctician in Brooklyn and Marlene popped up. I came in and she washed and re-twisted my locs. She was very warm and friendly and I love for my loctician to be someone I can trust and feel comfortable with. I will be back and definitely recommend her. She did a great job and I will be back for her to fix some of my locs that need help. Thank You ! read more

Wow! As soon as I got home I had to run to the yelp page and tell everyone my experience. Marlene Forde is truly a gift from the heavens. Not only is she skilled and gifted, she's also an amazing person who wholeheartedly cares about her clients. Amidst her busy schedule, she somehow find a way to treat everyone with same level of attention and meticulous detail. I did a ton a research on loc extensions and was looking around NYC area for someone to do them for me. There's a couple of locticians but Marlene stuck out! Not only does she have a stellar yelp track record, but the photos she posts of her work on facebook speaks for itself. I was floored when I saw all the marvelous styles she can create. I definitely had to reach out as soon as possible. Fast forward to today! Here's a great example of customer service. I stupidly forgot the hair for my loc extensions after making it down to Brooklyn. I was frantic and embarrassed. I sent her a manic text message saying I forgot the hair and I would be late for the appointment. Instead of berating (which I had coming), she was super accommodating and told me not to worry about it. Afterwards, I retrieved the hair and about an hour later, we were set and ready to go! We had a bunch of laughs, shared stories and discussed everything about locs. The day flew by and she was working quick. We had a few breaks and she even had time to squeeze in a client for a wash and style! It was amazing! We started about 11am and finished around 8pm. My hair looked amazing! and put in the books another appointment for a wash next month! I highly recommend her to anyone who's interested in having locs, having them styled and looking brilliant! read more

This lady Marlene forde tryed to call my husband back to do his hair. And when he told her why he's not coming back and that she scamed him she was quite and didn't say nothing. So that let me know that she knew what she did was wrong and that she over charged him and she can't do starter locks. Styles by Lisa did my husband's hair six weeks ago and his hair is still locked none came out they are not matted at all and still looks good. Marlene you should be ashamed with your self and stop doing people wrong we all struggling and that's why you should be honest with your client's and treat them better I don't care that people are giving her nice views but they are lying and that's all I have to say but I will not stop giving her the views she deserves. read more

Marlene was very sweet, helpful and personable. I am very tender-headed but she made my first retwist process a breeze. I started my own hair with two strand twists (120 locs varied in size and non-uniformed parts) and she was truly able to make my hair into a beautiful transformation because I needed help. Now I am so much more excited motivated and inspired about this loc journey. She helped me with my parts, my new growth, the parts where my hair unraveled and so much more. She was quick and my locs are pain free unlike many painful retwist loc stories I have heard about regarding some other locticians. My crazy commute to get to her was every bit worth it. This is 1 month into my loc journey as I mentioned, I started with two strand twist on natural hair. Marlene is my loc life saver! She is the best! The great yelp reviewers weren't lying! Marlene will forever be my loctician! read more

See all

If I could give no stars I would, Marlene knows nothing about how to care for locks, Marlene Charged me 200 dollars for starter locks, I took them out after I realized the the brick layers were done wrong and my parts were way to big and spread out sloppy, I should of done my reasearch more intensively, Her and her daughter work as a team so watch out and please beware, she is a fraud and a theft and the way she talks about her clients is just awful she is not professional at all I would never in my life recommend anyone to her. read more

Marlene is absolutely BROOKLYN'S BEST LOCTICIAN. I have been going to her for 4 years and she has nurtured my locs with tender love and care. The first day I met Marlene was when I was in dire need of getting my hair twisted for an important event that I had to attend. I went scouring up and down flatbush looking for someone to take me on a Friday night. After being denied countless times I finally ran across Marlene who when I explained my story said you know what come back in an hour and a half and I will take you. When I finally got in her chair she took her time and did an excellent job. My hair looked amazing. Not only that but Marlene was warm and welcoming with a sunshine smile and a great personality to match. When she was done I turned to her and said you just won yourself a dedicayed and loyal customer. With Marlene your getting more than your hair twisted you get a certified positive loc experience. read more