Mane man

Singapore — If this face looks familiar, it is probably because you know his owner by another name: Hagen Troy. As it turns out, Junda Chen, chief creative director at FDP Prestige Hair Care, is a bit of a multi-hyphenate, having forged a singing career, written songs, and even designed the hair salon he works at. “I like to beautify things,” he said “I’m quite a romantic and at the same time, a logical person, so I want to make dreams come true in a functional way.”

He credits this to his mother, who is an international beauty pageant judge and has been a beautician with a chain of salons since the 1980s. “My mum used to say if you beautify a person who is already beautiful, then you haven’t done anything, your skill is not there.”

He was inspired to become a hairstylist after going into a salon in the United Kingdom. “There was a lady who actually looked at my face and did a consultation (before she started cutting). I thought that was very different. Back in the 1980s or 1990s, you would just say, I want to cut it this way and they just cut it without a consultation,” he said, adding that his passion is really to just make sure that those who come in (to the salon) without much confidence go out a totally different person.

Q: What do people need to be prepared for when dating a hairstylist?

A: I’m a very neat person, actually, but because of my meticulousness, that person would have to at least look clean and presentable. I would look at details like okay, maybe there one inch, or your colour’s coming out. My career makes me look at the details. Sometimes that is good and sometimes that is bad. It makes your choices even more limited.

Q: Have you ever gotten attention for your good looks?

A: Before I was doing music, there would be people who would stand outside the salon. When I started singing and writing more songs, and people knew who I was, they knew where my shop is, so they would come, pretend like they wanted to make an appointment.

Q: What is the biggest misconception people have about being a hairstylist?

A: People always think, “You can’t study, you’re not good at academics, therefore, you become a stylist”. Hairstylists are perceived as inferior, but even the president needs someone to fix his or her hair. I think people have the misconception that hairstylists are uneducated, but I beg to differ, people in the creative field are very smart — I have a first-class degree in interior architecture. I always tell my colleagues and the people that I train not be looked down on that way.

This story first appeared on Toggle.sg