Trend CONNECT puts ‘what’s new’ together for you when it comes to the season’s most current trend updates in fashion, hair design, make-up, skin care, nails and grooming products. From the runway to the red carpet, Trend CONNECT puts you in touch with what the guest beauty bloggers and fashion influencers know you want to know-and need to know – as they report on what really impacts your world as a stylist, barber, nail artist or consumer. Enjoy the opportunity to talk amongst yourselves in this exciting, upbeat and fresh exchange of details and dialogue!
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Month, a time to celebrate and recognize Asian American and Pacific Islander contributions. As a small business started and currently run by Asian Americans, JATAI holds this recognition close to our heart. What started as a small dream by Fred Wada, the founder of JATAI, it has turned into a recognized company in...
Sofie Pok If you’re a barber, or heck even a stylist, you probably know who Sofie is. She broke a lot of barriers in the barber industry being both a female and of Asian descent. Being mainly Cambodian and part Chinese and Vietnamese, Sofie quickly rose to the top earning the title of Barber of the Year and Men’s Shot of the Year at Behind the Chair in 2017. Residing in the Los Angeles area, she is easily recognized with her wealth of tattoos and funky hair. She always displays swagger and looks intimidating, but she’s sweet, kind, motivated and driven. She’s a natural born artist who is both a stylist and barber. While her road to success was filled with struggle and uncertainty, she found her niche with short haircuts. While many clients and barbers wouldn’t take her seriously because she was a female, she took to Instagram where she showcased her work and little by little her following grew. Her current ambition is growing STMNT Grooming Goods with fellow barbers Julius Cvesar and Miguel Gutierrez which launched in 2022.
Julius Cvesar Also a barber, Julius grew up in the SF Bay area. He is of Filipino descent and a well-known barber in the industry. Also, covered in tattoos, Julius now resides in the Los Angeles area where he has built his platform in barbering. An artist at heart, he ventures into fashion, painting and runs a creative hub and gallery space. In barbering, his crisp design lines, color combinations and placement are creative and innovative. He takes appointments at All Hail Barbershop. Popular on Instagram he has also been on stage for Wahl and Layrite as he was a part of the Wahl Education and Artistic Team. There he specialized in clipper over comb, point cutting and heavy textures. His current project is working with fellow barbers Sofie Pok and Miguel Gutierrez on the STMNT Grooming Goods brands.
Emily Chen Moving over to the hairstylist world, Emily Chen takes a spotlight. She is the owner of Brooks and Harlow Salon and teaches salon education…and she teaches a lot of it. Currently, she tours within her own salon but also across the country on a variety of different topics from color to haircutting. Based out of New York, Emily also cuts hair at her salon. She has built her following on Insta to 150k and almost 20k on TikTok. She is also present on YouTube and Twitter. Needless to say, she is everywhere teaching tips and tricks. She even won Color Video of the Year through the Hairbrained Video Awards with her 7-Hour Blonding Breakdown video. Wow…that must have been a lot of work!
12Pell While not an individual person, 12Pell is a lifestyle brand run by Asian Americans. Dedicated to personal care and style, they cover all things grooming. Their goal is to build a community of like-minded people who are passionate about art and entrepreneurship. However, they have a huge focus on barbering and men’s haircuts. With a whooping 285k followers on IG and 1.8M followers on TikTok, they know how to generate social media attention. Their content focuses on a lot on hair education from the consultation to hair inspiration to styling tips. They’ve been recognized by ABC7, BBC, CBS, Yahoo, Business Insider and more. It would be safe to say that 12Pell has created the community they sought to build and then some.
Angela Kim A special mention goes out to Angela Kim, a Los Angeles hairstylist who focuses on clean beauty and eco-conscious hairstyling. A second generation Korean American, Angela has been working in the industry for over 13 years. While she might not have a huge following on social media, her work is beautiful and she’s one to watch out for. A Feather Razor user, Angela is up and coming. She can do long or short hair and color. Her dedication to eco-friendly non-toxic hair services shows she’s dedicated to health and healthy beauty, something everyone can appreciate.
Kaz Shimada Last but not least, Kaz Shimada is a Japanese American hairstylist. She is a proficient razor cutter, primarily using the Feather Plier Razor. So, she is definitely talented! Based out of Pasadena, CA, she co-owns MANE+CROWN salon. She’s a true artist with a beautiful portfolio. She has done commercial and red carpet work. Her work is gorgeous and she knows how to work the razor and her various tools to get fantastic looks. There are many more AAAPI’s that were not mentioned here, but we wanted to highlight a few that have stood out to us. Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have come a long way. While they still don’t represent a huge percentage of hairstylists and barbers, the ones that have stuck around have done well for themselves and have broken barriers. Their contributions to the beauty industry are valuable and appreciated. We continue to encourage more AAPI’s to bring their creative talents to the hair world. Show us what you’ve got!
JATAI provides innovative and professional quality beauty implements with world-class customer service and educational support. To offer great products as a master distributor, we seek out and select only manufacturers who demonstrate superior workmanship, the most advanced technology, and respected business core values of reliability, honesty and integrity. Accordingly, JATAI represents three major ‘workhorse’ brands that dominate within their categories. Feather, Seki Edge and Fuji Paper. JATAI Academy brings beauty tools to creative life. It’s the ultimate professional information resource where Education, Artistry and Trends CONNECT for Stylists and Barbers.
It’s Women’s History Month and what better way to celebrate than to appreciate the gains of women in the hair industry. There have been so many accomplishments pioneered by women over the years that today we take for granted. There are many more, but let’s look at 5 women who influenced the hair industry forever. Martha Matilda Martha was...
JATAI provides innovative and professional quality beauty implements with world-class customer service and educational support. To offer great products as a master distributor, we seek out and select only manufacturers who demonstrate superior workmanship, the most advanced technology, and respected business core values of reliability, honesty and integrity. Accordingly, JATAI represents three major ‘workhorse’ brands that dominate within their categories. Feather, Seki Edge and Fuji Paper. JATAI Academy brings beauty tools to creative life. It’s the ultimate professional information resource where Education, Artistry and Trends CONNECT for Stylists and Barbers.
Not all hair professionals are equal. Some are all about the trendiest styles, some only do color, some focus on short haircuts while others specialize in updos. There are a variety of hairstylists and barbers that provide unique and fun experiences and then others that do your basic run of the mill styles. Whatever the case may be, there are...
JATAI provides innovative and professional quality beauty implements with world-class customer service and educational support. To offer great products as a master distributor, we seek out and select only manufacturers who demonstrate superior workmanship, the most advanced technology, and respected business core values of reliability, honesty and integrity. Accordingly, JATAI represents three major ‘workhorse’ brands that dominate within their categories. Feather, Seki Edge and Fuji Paper. JATAI Academy brings beauty tools to creative life. It’s the ultimate professional information resource where Education, Artistry and Trends CONNECT for Stylists and Barbers.
This year has been a whirlwind. Didn’t it seem like just yesterday it was January 1, 2022? So much has happened over this past year that it’s worth reflecting on as we bring in the new year. When we look back on this year, 2022 can be described as turbulent, a little rock n’ roll and the age of influencer...
JATAI provides innovative and professional quality beauty implements with world-class customer service and educational support. To offer great products as a master distributor, we seek out and select only manufacturers who demonstrate superior workmanship, the most advanced technology, and respected business core values of reliability, honesty and integrity. Accordingly, JATAI represents three major ‘workhorse’ brands that dominate within their categories. Feather, Seki Edge and Fuji Paper. JATAI Academy brings beauty tools to creative life. It’s the ultimate professional information resource where Education, Artistry and Trends CONNECT for Stylists and Barbers.
According to Ivan Zoot, when a customer is dissatisfied with their service, 95% of the time it can be traced back to miscommunication during the consult, not the actual technical performance of the haircut. Not having a clear understanding of what your client wants is a sure way to getting undesirable results. To avoid the challenges of misunderstanding it goes...
JATAI provides innovative and professional quality beauty implements with world-class customer service and educational support. To offer great products as a master distributor, we seek out and select only manufacturers who demonstrate superior workmanship, the most advanced technology, and respected business core values of reliability, honesty and integrity. Accordingly, JATAI represents three major ‘workhorse’ brands that dominate within their categories. Feather, Seki Edge and Fuji Paper. JATAI Academy brings beauty tools to creative life. It’s the ultimate professional information resource where Education, Artistry and Trends CONNECT for Stylists and Barbers.
It’s that time of year again. And you know what that means? The holidays are an incredible opportunity to gain business and make good money. In fact, the holidays could comprise a good portion of your yearly income. People are in the mood to spend, they have holiday parties to attend and they want to look extra good. You are...
JATAI provides innovative and professional quality beauty implements with world-class customer service and educational support. To offer great products as a master distributor, we seek out and select only manufacturers who demonstrate superior workmanship, the most advanced technology, and respected business core values of reliability, honesty and integrity. Accordingly, JATAI represents three major ‘workhorse’ brands that dominate within their categories. Feather, Seki Edge and Fuji Paper. JATAI Academy brings beauty tools to creative life. It’s the ultimate professional information resource where Education, Artistry and Trends CONNECT for Stylists and Barbers.
Are you a hair professional looking to grow your business? Of course you are! If you’re looking to gain new clients and entice current clients to return, sometimes you need to change things up and make things fresh. There are many ways to do sales promotions and get people talking about you. In this article, the ideas of Ivan Zoot,...
JATAI provides innovative and professional quality beauty implements with world-class customer service and educational support. To offer great products as a master distributor, we seek out and select only manufacturers who demonstrate superior workmanship, the most advanced technology, and respected business core values of reliability, honesty and integrity. Accordingly, JATAI represents three major ‘workhorse’ brands that dominate within their categories. Feather, Seki Edge and Fuji Paper. JATAI Academy brings beauty tools to creative life. It’s the ultimate professional information resource where Education, Artistry and Trends CONNECT for Stylists and Barbers.
Are you looking to do something different in your salon or barbershop? Would you like to increase your client retention rate or just support your best clients? Then, maybe a membership program is worth looking into. A membership program can benefit your salon or shop in many ways. It can encourage customer loyalty, increase client predictability and keep chairs filled....
JATAI provides innovative and professional quality beauty implements with world-class customer service and educational support. To offer great products as a master distributor, we seek out and select only manufacturers who demonstrate superior workmanship, the most advanced technology, and respected business core values of reliability, honesty and integrity. Accordingly, JATAI represents three major ‘workhorse’ brands that dominate within their categories. Feather, Seki Edge and Fuji Paper. JATAI Academy brings beauty tools to creative life. It’s the ultimate professional information resource where Education, Artistry and Trends CONNECT for Stylists and Barbers.
If you’re looking to build and grow your haircutting business, look no further. There are endless ways to get more people in the door and in the chair. This requires, however, some thought and creativity. Let’s look at three great ways to earn more business: cross promoting, perks and effective sales promotions. Cross Promotions: Cross promoting is one way...
JATAI provides innovative and professional quality beauty implements with world-class customer service and educational support. To offer great products as a master distributor, we seek out and select only manufacturers who demonstrate superior workmanship, the most advanced technology, and respected business core values of reliability, honesty and integrity. Accordingly, JATAI represents three major ‘workhorse’ brands that dominate within their categories. Feather, Seki Edge and Fuji Paper. JATAI Academy brings beauty tools to creative life. It’s the ultimate professional information resource where Education, Artistry and Trends CONNECT for Stylists and Barbers.
One of the biggest questions that stylists and barbers ask is ‘How much should I charge for a haircut?’ It’s a question that takes consideration. You don’t want to just use the same pricing as your fellow hair professionals. You want to price your haircuts based on your own personal goals and needs. But how do you do that? Many...
JATAI provides innovative and professional quality beauty implements with world-class customer service and educational support. To offer great products as a master distributor, we seek out and select only manufacturers who demonstrate superior workmanship, the most advanced technology, and respected business core values of reliability, honesty and integrity. Accordingly, JATAI represents three major ‘workhorse’ brands that dominate within their categories. Feather, Seki Edge and Fuji Paper. JATAI Academy brings beauty tools to creative life. It’s the ultimate professional information resource where Education, Artistry and Trends CONNECT for Stylists and Barbers.