“I seriously was born a hairdresser,” celebrity hairstylist Mark Townsend told Stephanie Saltzman during a live chat on The Fashionista Network. (Watch it here!)

His passion for hairstyling can be traced back to his adolescence, when he would practice on his sister’s Barbie dolls. By the time he reached college, Townsend was already putting his skills into use, especially as a club kid, “creating these wild, big hairstyles out of anything — plastic, scarves or anything I could get my hands on,” he recalled.

Once he earned his cosmetology license, Townsend booked a one-way ticket from Florida to New York City. His first foray into the professional hairstyling world came when he landed a gig assisting at the Oribe salon. He’s never looked back since.

“Working with Oribe [Canales] was just [unbelievable],” he said. “In the ’90s, it was the height of fashion. Every supermodel was coming in, and I got to be on Oribe’s team during fashion week to do all the shows. I knew I found my home and where I really wanted to be.”

Townsend continued hustling up the ladder, assisting trailblazing industry names such as Danilo and Sally Hershberger. He credits the latter for “really changing [his] life,” as she brought him on nearly every major project and taught him how the entire glam team — from the photographer, to the stylist, to the nail technician — must collaborate to create one cohesive look. 

Some of his first A-list celebrity clients included actors Tom Cruise and Penélope Cruz on the set of “Vanilla Sky.” But perhaps his strongest and best-known professional relationship is that with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen: He first worked with them on the set of a Teen Vogue photoshoot, lensed by Patrick Demarchelier, when the twins were quiet and shy 16-year-olds; they then requested to work with him for the 2004 film “New York Minute.” An unbreakable bond between the Olsens and Townsend was formed.

“Twenty-two to 23 years later, Mary Kate has had one haircut outside of me and Ashley never has,” Townsend shared. “That kind of loyalty and bond is rare, but it does happen. And I have to say, that’s probably one of the most proud things of my whole career, the relationships I have built and how long they last — especially with Ashley and Mary-Kate.”

Townsend also built a strong relationship with the twins’ younger sister, Elizabeth Olsen, and recalled styling her hair for her first high school formal. Decades later, he’s still working with the Marvel star, most recently for the 2024 Golden Globes, which took place only a day before his live chat on The Fashionista Network.

In addition to the Olsens, his celebrity clientele includes Nina Dobrev, Julianne Moore, Dakota Johnson, Riley Keough, Aubrey Plaza, Charithra Chandran, Gal Gadot and Gwyneth Paltrow, among many others.

One of the biggest changes in the hair and beauty world, he said, has been the increased number of red carpet events. At one point, celebrities had time to do a full glam run-through the night before a red carpet event, complete with hair, makeup, nails, beauty, jewelry and the outfit — “there’s just not time for that anymore,” he explained, as award shows get bigger and more categories get aired on television.

Social media also plays a larger role. “The big show is not the red carpet anymore,” he said. “It’s the pictures you get before [celebrities] even hit the carpet. It really is about behind-the-scenes now. And I understand people want to know right away, but as hair and makeup artists, we’re not allowed to publish red carpet pictures a lot of the time, so we have to take our own photos beforehand…  It hasn’t [negatively] affected the glam, I think it’s stepped it up in such a huge way because so many more eyes are on it. I think more people look at Instagram during an award show, like the Golden Globes, than actually even sitting down and watching the show.”

One of Townsend’s biggest pieces of advice is never to be afraid to advocate for yourself.

“One thing I have really, really instilled in myself is knowing my worth,” he said. “I learned that really early on […] Know your rate, know your worth and stick to it.