7 minute read
SHE FADEZ - By Guest Editor Ryan Poole
In the vibrant world of barbering, Jess Younan, known on Instagram as @shefadez.co, has carved out a distinct niche for herself. Her journey from a high school job at McDonald’s to mastering the art of barbering is a testament to her passion and resilience.
What started with experimenting on funky haircuts on her Barbie dolls at a young age would pave the way into a serious career. Now, with a thriving clientele and a substantial following online, Jess blends traditional barbering skills with modern social media savvy. Her story highlights the evolving landscape of the industry and her role in shaping its future.
Barbershop Mag’s Guest Editor Ryan Poole chats with Jess...
So Jess, tell me about your barber journey! How did you get into the industry and what was the draw-in for you?
Hey! Firstly, I wanted to thank you for having me!
Well, it all started when I was 16. My best friend Lucy had got me a job in a hairdressing salon a few years prior. I felt competent in my skills as a hairdresser but so uninspired. I specifically remember one afternoon in the salon, it was quiet, and I had the opportunity to scroll through Instagram and what popped up on my feed changed my path from that moment on… a skin fade, and who did the skin fade? A female barber.
This was something I had never seen before and I was gobsmacked that a woman was in a barbershop, producing awesome haircuts like she did. It was and still isn’t something you see when you pass most barbershops. From that moment on I finally found that little fire in my belly to learn something new and master it as much as I could. I bought my very first pair of clippers, the Wahl Seniors and I got practising on my brother, cousins and friends. I got to the point where I felt my haircuts were photo-worthy and I started my profile ‘@ shefadez.co’ and started posting.
I started to enquire at barbershops if they were willing to take me on! I managed to land an interview at my dream workplace, and I got the job! After a few years under my belt, I decided to move around to a few more shops until I was able to build up my clientele to the point I could rent a chair at the Box Barbershop in Baulkham Hills. I currently work three days a week in the barbershop, I have two ‘Admin/editing’ days at home per week, while I slowly build my brand in-store and on social media.
This has been such an awesome opportunity and a great learning curve into how to scale and run my brand. It has its hard days, but I wouldn’t change it. While I love cutting hair and the creativity that comes with it, I have always known that there is a performative side to me as well so having social media and gaining a following has allowed me to do both within my work life. I feel blessed.
You are massive on your socials! You’re currently sitting on 90k followers between TikTok and Instagram. You’ve worked in collaboration with clothing brands. How did you get to this level of recognition, and do you have any advice to other barbers on how to approach promoting themselves?
I am so grateful for the people who have decided to follow my journey through social media. My main piece of advice for anybody who also loves to share a snippet of their work, life and personality on their platform is to just be yourself and have fun with it! People value authenticity and that is something that I am learning every single day. If you can be true to yourself throughout your journey of growth, the right opportunities will follow. I have been incredibly fortunate to work with Slick Gorilla, Silver Bullet, Amarda Apparel and Pushas Official.
One thing that stands out to me about these brands is that they also value authenticity. They allow me to create my own content with minimal guidelines and to me that goes such a long way because I don’t feel like have to be somebody I’m not, just to please a brand. So, my advice to fellow content creators is to just be yourself; show off YOUR personality, YOUR individuality! Whatever it feels like you’re meant to be posting on your platform, create it and don’t overthink it. There is something out there to watch for absolutely everyone.
With the landscape of barbering changing so constantly, styles are always changing. We’re finding more of a shift towards alternative trims for alternative clients. Have you found this shift exciting or interesting in your work?
This is an awesome question I’ve been thinking on for a while now. So being in the barber industry for the past 6 years, I have seen quite a significant change in the trends of haircuts. Back when I started, the fashion and style focus was quite concentrated around standard skin fades, short back and sides and just trimming the top.
Rarely anyone came in asking for half the haircuts we barbers are doing now. In 2024, barbers including myself are having to learn a whole new skill set to be able to cater to our clients and the current trends. I find it exciting and interesting as it pushes us barbers to learn and grow with the change that is constantly coming our way.
Regarding that change in traditional barbering, in the past 10 years especially, we’ve found a large shift in female and non-binary clientele. As a female barber, I’d love to know your thoughts on how you’re veering away from the stigmas of a oncetraditional, male-orientated industry.
As a female barber, I love it when I have another female sit in my chair for a trim and catchup. I say with the area that I’ve worked in, the demographic that lay within this area, 90% of the time, the barbershop is men, men, men but the other 10% I would say is my female clientele, who are not after a gender-specific haircut and they are purely after a change and to feel confident within their skin. I admire their confidence to go short and rock something modern and fun and I would love to see more women be free with their hair!
Alright, we’ve seen all of this change in our industry; so, where do we go from here?
I believe the industry is constantly changing and will continue to do so. As barbers, we need to remain open-minded and take a humble approach to moving forward within our work. This industry changes, and we set out to learn technical skills all over again. We mature with our interpersonal skills to accommodate different personality types.
It is really easy to become comfortable in your skills and in your return clientele that you see every few weeks, I believe that’s where most barbers become stuck and don’t see any growth within their brand. We all need to invest in ourselves one way or another so that we can provide knowledge, understanding and skill for our clients who choose to put their time and trust in us.
I appreciate all your time, Jess! Are there final words of advice you’d like to give to upcoming barbers?
My final words to all the up-and-coming barbers are to be proactive! You won’t get anywhere if you don’t get up every day to learn something new or simply just give a haircut that has been scaring you a red-hot go! Stay learning, keep your mind open, and ask lots of questions as you are watching other barbers do haircuts.
We as barbers are constantly learning and growing and not every experience in the barbershop will be a perfect one but as long as you’re trying, that’s all that matters. Finally, have faith in yourself and your work. Negative talk in your head will result in negative outcomes. Thank you for having me!
