'I was doing something special that is needed'

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A new downtown Moncton salon has created a space for women who have been waiting years for a haircut.

Style by Siwar Studio, located on the corner of Botsford and Victoria streets, includes a private room for clients who wear hijabs.

Stylist Siwar Jneid said it was a need he heard from women before the studio began accepting clients in August. He said women would reach out asking to book in a private space but the salons he was working in didn’t offer this kind of service.

“In New Brunswick and I think in most of Canada, they don’t have a private room for hijabi,” he said. “Newcomers are looking for that space. They have no salon to go to.”

The room includes two salon chairs and will allow people who wear hijabs to remove them to have their hair done in private.

Andréia Souza, one of the salon’s owners, said there is a need for this kind of service in Moncton as the city’s population continues to grow and become more diverse. She said a lot of thought went into the room’s design, which aims to make clients feel safe and has a Middle Eastern esthetic.

Before opening the salon, Souza said she met a woman who wears a hijab who, after going more than a year without getting her hair cut, ended up turning to YouTube to try to cut her own hair.

“That reinforced to me that I was doing something special that is needed,” she said.

Souza and Jneid met after he moved to Canada in 2016. Jneid had spent time living in Jordan after fleeing his home country of Syria when war broke out in 2011.

Jneid began working in salons at the age of 15. The career felt like a natural fit and his talent began to land him work with models on photo shoots and behind the scenes on television.

He hoped to begin to work when he arrived in Moncton, but said his qualifications from Syria wouldn’t allow him to work in a New Brunswick salon due to rules set by the Cosmetology Association of New Brunswick which requires its certification from the association.

Jnied said it took more than a year to gain that certification, but in the meantime, he was aided by Jesse Kerpan, International Development Manager at the Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick. Kerpan introduced Jneid to locals looking for a salon service and drove him to their homes to help him gain a client base in the province.

Souza was one of those clients. Looking for a career change herself, Souza and her partner Blair McLaughlin teamed up with Jnied to open the salon.

She said they were looking for something that would be more than a source of income and have a larger purpose. Through the salon, they’ve found a way to give newcomers an opportunity to use their skills from home countries here in Canada.

Jnied is now doing hair, nails, and threading services at the salon, and they’ve hired Mohammad Al Zou Bi, a tailor who also moved to Canada from Syria this year, who has a studio in the salon. Another staff member who is originally from Syria works in the salon offering threading services.

Souza said the salon is a diverse space with more than five languages spoken, so they can cater to a wide client base. She said working in the inclusive space is helpful for staff like Al Zou Bi who is still learning to speak English.

Now, as they build up their clientele, Souza said they are looking to hire more staff looking for a start in Canada.

“We want the people that are going to come to work here and be part of our team to feel heard, feel valued, and we want to help them,” she said.