Marco Pelusi’s uncle, Philip, opened his first hair salon in Pittsburgh in the 1960s, and over the years he added 11 more locations in the area. Growing up, Pelusi ’93 A&A worked part time in his uncle’s salons, but it was only after graduating from Penn State, when visiting educators from Italian hair color company Framesi came to present their techniques, that he realized he wanted to be a stylist himself.

“The minute those women got up and started teaching, I thought, ‘That’s what I need to be doing,” Pelusi says.

After moving to the West Coast, he taught Framesi’s hair color method in several salons, then went to work for Los Angeles-based hair care brand Joico as its international director. He traveled to the company’s manufacturing facilities and worked with chemists developing hair care products—but, Pelusi says, something was missing. After a time, he realized that what he really craved was the special bond between the hairdresser and the client.

In 2005, Pelusi opened Marco Pelusi Hair Studio in West Hollywood, and he became a fixture in that community. He has served on the board of the West Hollywood Design District and has been recognized by the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. He has worked with many celebrities, including Carol Alt, Carson Kressley, and James Brolin. “The more you get to know people, they sort of become your people,” he says, “and I think I really found my people.”

Pelusi continues to teach his highlighting technique at international beauty shows, and he has developed his own line of collagen-based hair products. —Jeff Hodgdon