To Jawara, hair is a medium of emotion

All Jawara Wauchope needs is one good look at your hair to get a sense of who you are. “Hair is such a close reflection of yourself. It’s the most intimate thing; more than clothes, more than make-up, more than anything,” he tells me Sunday, August 17, afternoon at the 2025 Aveda Hair Congress. “Hair is the actual reflection of your health, who you are, where you stand and what you think. I can tell you a lot through your hair. Hair is so intimate.”

The world-class hair artist and FIT and Aveda Institute alum has styled for the world’s brightest stars, led creative direction for major publications and spearheaded the modern renaissance of Black hair shows. But the most important skill that has carried him through it all is intuition. The biggest guide for his work is being able to sit in the environment and understand what the project, person or space is calling for.

Such was also the case for his presentation at the 2025 Aveda Hair Congress, where he took to the stage to share his journey, intention behind all of his work and a hair presentation that was ideated and executed in a mere number of days. His organic creative process was actualised as models with textured, avant-garde coiffures made their way across the stage. 

Catching up with Jawara after his presentation, Dazed spoke to the hairstylist about his methods, passion for textured hair and what he expects to see as we step into the future of beauty.

What is the most exciting part about participating in the Aveda Hair Congress?

Jawara Wauchope: It’s so good to see all the different artists and expressions of hair. To see what everyone is feeling, thinking, and expressing through hair is such a big deal for me because I sometimes get caught up in being in my own world, travelling and having my team, so I don’t get to see other hairstylists’ work. There are people in this show that I’ve been a fan of for a long time, but I don’t know them personally, so it’s great to see what they’re feeling through expression. I think hair is such a medium of emotion, so it’s great to see all of that. 

What do you think will be the biggest takeaway for people in the audience? 

Jawara Wauchope: Just seeing the different realms that people can pull you through. Some of the shows were informative, some were fun, some trippy. Some of the shows are otherworldly: doing hair on the head, the body or on the suits. It’s such a wild realm of concepts in one space.

What was the inspiration behind your show?

Jawara Wauchope: I’m an alumnus of Aveda. So for me to be asked back was a full-circle moment. The first thing I thought about was what we learned at Aveda. I went back to the younger me, and what Aveda always championed was nature, earth and wellbeing. I grew up in a household where everything was about chakras, and I didn’t see any of that being supported in school until I got to Aveda. It was like how my mum raised us, to be in touch with your inner self. I wanted to get back to that. I also wanted the models to reflect different things in nature. There are flowers, rose petals and antlers. It’s all pulling inspiration from nature and putting it together to create a couture package of a hair presentation.

I grew up in a household where everything was about chakras, and I didn’t see any of that being supported in school until I got to Aveda. It was like how my mum raised us, to be in touch with your inner self. I wanted to get back to that.

For some of the sculptural pieces they were walking with, how did you decide to construct those out of hair, too?

Jawara Wauchope: I don’t know. I just get into a room and create. My team, whoever’s working with me, is always like, ‘What are we doing today?’ Everything about me is more about the feeling. I have to walk into a space, feel it, and feel what I’m doing. I got here first, and then everything was done in two days. It’s hard for me to pre-plan because I don’t want to make things that don’t fit the person. If it’s a job or a project where we know we’re going in a direction because that’s what the brand, team, or celebrity wants, that’s one thing. But if it’s up to me to come up with the creative, I need to sit in the space. So that was a big part of my process. For the hair flowers, we coloured, distressed, and made texture in it, pressed it out and cut them into shapes for flowers and plants.

With that being in your process, what do you bring with you in your kit? 

Jawara Wauchope: Everything. I just get prepared to bring and do everything. 

What products did you use for this show? 

Jawara Wauchope: We used Aveda Deep Colour for all of the bright colours, and Full Spectrum for the natural colours. We used a lot of Control Force Hair Spray. On the model’s hair, depending on the different hair types, we used the Brilliant, Be Curly Advanced and Smooth Infusion lines.

I also love how much you emphasised the importance of elevating textured hair. How does it feel to work with a company like Aveda, and how do you see them doing that?

Jawara Wauchope: Aveda has taken initiatives to pay attention to textured hair, even back when I was younger. What I love is that they have naturally-derived products that work great for textured hair, and I see that they’re taking steps to learn and do more. I’m always proud to be aligned with a company that is doing that, because there are a lot of holes in this space for people with textured hair.

Speaking of textured hair, you brought back the idea of the iconic Black hair shows with your recent show, Black Hair Reimagine: The New Era of Beauty. Why was doing that important for you?

Jawara Wauchope: I felt like I was going to a lot of these elite events in the fashion industry, and I didn’t really see a lot of myself in them. I always thought about coming up with a charity event to bring back the reason why I fell in love with hair, and one of those reasons was the Black hair shows. My partner, Jrod Lacks, and I started a company, Echelon Noir Productions, to make sure that we continue to bring [textured hair representation] into that space, and other activations we feel the industry is missing.

Why is something like Echelon Noir needed in the industry right now?

Jawara Wauchope: If we don’t champion ourselves, we fade away. If you continue to stand beside and see things happening that don't have you at the forefront, you become the past. So it's very important to me, and I think one of the things I learned from doing that show is the community that exists around everyone working in our industry. We sometimes move around so much that you feel alone; this industry can isolate you, but there’s a community there. Even with this show, going into the prep room and walking across the room to meet a person that you’re a fan of, it’s a kind of camaraderie that’s invaluable.

What keeps you coming back to beauty when it feels hard?

Jawara Wauchope: What pushes me to do it continuously is making sure that no one has to feel the way I felt again. But also, my support system. Constantly having families and friends affirm that yes, you can do it, even though there’s nothing like that out there. You can be one of the ones to do that. I think hair is a community. Hair for me starts with how you view, love and accept yourself, and your community is there to help you do that. For me, there is a sense of togetherness through hair.

If we don’t champion ourselves, we fade away. If you continue to stand beside and see things happening that don't have you at the forefront, you become the past.

I feel that beauty professionals have such a talent when it comes to reading and connecting with clients. With all the projects you’ve worked on and people you've connected with, what is something you feel they’ve brought out in you to help you tell your stories?

Jawara Wauchope: The one thing that I can say is that the more people I work with, the more I learn about myself. The more that I went into it scared, I left more triumphant within myself and who I am, not just the hairstylist but as a people person. I [gained an] understanding that, yes, I might be on this job to do hair, but this person is going through something. What you’re about to do may change the way they feel about themselves. So it’s a bit deeper than hair. Hair is the portal to that. It’s a message. Again, I don’t want to put something on you just because I'm a hairstylist. I know how to do it. That is not you. I think what I do the most, more than hair, is feel people and use my intuition to amplify the message they would send about themselves.

You called your hair show The New Era of Beauty. What does the new era of beauty look like?

Jawara Wauchope: Well, I don’t think it looks one way. I think the era of beauty prior to this was a standard, but what I think is beautiful is not what you think is beautiful; it’s open for interpretation. That’s why I wanted to include different artists with different perspectives. Everyone is coming together to show what they do, why they love what they do, and to inspire other people. That’s what it’s all about. There’s a possibility for bridging gaps that I don’t feel like we’ve fully tapped into. The key is understanding and allowing ourselves to be educated and not thinking that we know it all. To have empathy for other people’s perspectives.

What would you say about the current era of beauty we’re living in?

Jawara Wauchope: If I am being very honest, I feel like we are on the precipice of going into a different state. Right now, it feels a little stagnant to me, but we’re about to step into something crazy. After Covid, we got experimental, but then we got boring again. Everyone went back to work, and now we’re about to go back to creating while also operating in the world, and that’s going to be the most exciting.