Jag Moussa follows family tradition and finds success
Jag Moussa has long had hair in his blood. Growing up the son of two hairdressers — two uncles an aunt and a cousin are also in the business — it would only have seemed natural for Moussa to follow in their footsteps. But while he says he “played” with hair a lot as child he never imagined he would go on to work with it.
Today however he does both. While hairdressing may be how Moussa — a stylist at Calgary’s Ginger Group — pays the bills it’s also clearly a passion he indulges as both a contestant and judge in competitions. He recently placed first in the women’s trend cut and style category at the Allied Beauty Association’s Edmonton show with a spiky orange and teal ’do.
Competitive hairstyling Moussa says is a painstaking process that requires putting an innovative spin on basic principles of design. Contestants must follow exacting specifications over the proportion of “extreme” or neon colour used and the amount of hair cut while keeping an eye on the big picture.
“Not only does the design of the hair itself have to look good” he says “but it also has to match the personality of the model the personality of the presentation you’re going to give with makeup fashion posture. It really uses a combination of fashion and design and the whole presentation. Some of the hairstyles you come up with quite quickly and some of them require a lot of research. It’s really a cool process to put it all together.”
As the category’s name would suggest Moussa’s design had to reflect the latest trends. While orange- and teal-coloured hair is rare Moussa says women are flocking to the ombre style which generally features a darker colour at the roots that fades into a lighter one at the ends. The cut of the moment is the chop a layered shoulder-length trim with bangs.
Men meanwhile have taken to the pompadour a 1950s style enjoying a comeback. And recalling the days when women flocked to salons demanding “the Rachel” TV remains an influence with the slick parted Mad Men look a popular style.
Slavish adherence to trendy styles however isn’t something Moussa encourages among clients. “I think suitability to the person you’re going to put a hair cut on is the most important thing” he says. “It’s got to look good on them.”
If there’s no style known as the Jag yet Moussa hopes that may one day come. He placed third in the Canada-wide Revlon Style Masters contest earlier this year and dreams of competing internationally.
“I think over the past eight years I’ve been taught to develop a style a brand my style” he says. “Where if my hairdo’s walking down the street it’s acknowledged hopefully in the future as something I might have done. Becoming my own brand I guess you could say within my industry is something that I’ve learned I’m capable of and that I’m excited about.”
But one needn’t be a hairdresser he stresses to develop one’s own style. Asked about the biggest hair blunders people make Moussa says home colouring and cutting often have unforeseen consequences. But excessive caution he adds is just as big a mistake.
“I really want people to explore more about what they can do with their hair. Suit it to the event they’re going to or where they’re going — not something that wouldn’t suit where they’re going but when they have the opportunity to take some risks.”
