From owning an inclusive salon to creating the renowned Cadō Curly Cut, Reema Jaber is continuing to break barriers in hairdressing. Learn more about her journey in the industry and how she is uplifting others through her craft.
How did you get started in hair?
For me, hair is like an art form, and I just love art. I was painting at the time— I didn’t know what I wanted to go into. I was a paralegal and wanted to become a lawyer, but unfortunately, I just didn’t feel like that was my future. My dad recommended hair school to me since I loved doing hair. I didn’t expect my Middle Eastern dad to give me that as an option, and he was so proud of me. I ended up going to the Aveda Institute in Toronto, and it was the best experience ever.
What were some of the challenges you faced early on in your career, and how did you overcome them?
I did experience challenges. I do wear the hijab and I’m Muslim, so that was kind of a big thing for me. It was a really big deal for me to be teaching in Berlin [for Schwarzkopf Professional’s Hair by Schwarzkopf Festival]. It was so amazing and such an opportunity for me. I was so proud because it wasn’t always that way.
At the beginning, it actually was something that hurt me. I faced a little bit of racism here and there, but I didn’t let it bring me down. I just educated people—I always believe in educating people. And, you know, it never really upset me, but I did feel like it was definitely a challenge at one point.
I always tell people, “Don’t let something like that be a limitation. You can overcome anything.” And I truly wanted to succeed in this industry. I wanted people to see me, whether I wore the hijab or not. I just wanted them to see my talent, and I believe I have gotten to a point where they see my talent and see the hijab, which I love. I’m so proud that they see what I can do. It doesn’t have to be I’m seen because I wear the hijab—I’m seen because I do good hair and I also wear the hijab.
Tell us about your salon, Hair by Reema, and how you’ve built a team and space that’s welcoming.
I found a team that’s so amazing— they’re so open, and we just support each other. We’re a very multicultural salon— we have people of all backgrounds, cultures and beliefs. We all just accept each other, and we attract clients that are like that as well. They come in and feel accepted and comfortable in our salon. We have many hijabi clients that come. We have three floors in the salon, and the third floor is where we accommodate people who wear the hijab. The girls make them feel safe and comfortable. We want our salon to be a safe space for everyone.
What motivated you to specialize in curly hair?
I’ve been working on my techniques for curly and coily hair since I was in hair school because my friends had curly and coily hair. I’m Palestinian, and we have all kinds of curls and types of hair. Many girls with curly and very coily, thick hair have never really been to a salon—or a high-end salon anyway—and felt like they can go in there without being judged. They were also apologetic for their own hair. Now it’s, like, give me your thick hair! That’s what we want.
We make people feel comfortable, and that’s what we love. We have all kinds of clients: kids, male clients with curly hair, non-curly hair, female clients with all types of hair. We just do all kinds of hair, and we’re so proud of it. I had a lot of curly-hair clients, but they weren’t as open [to embracing their natural hair texture] as they are now. In 2019, I started to do a lot more curly hair. I started actually posting it on social media, and I finalized my curly-hair method that I wanted to start teaching my team. During [the COVID pandemic], more people accepted their curls, and people were seeing all the curly-hair work we were doing on Instagram. I started going viral because everyone was so interested in it.
“I LOVE MY HAIR, AND I LOVE MAKING PEOPLE LOVE THEIR HAIR. I LOVE BRINGING OUT THE BEAUTY IN PEOPLE AND MAKING THEM FEEL CONFIDENT.”
Tell us about the Cadō Curly Cut and how you created it.
I really wanted to brand [my education] and make it something where I certify stylists and give them really in-depth education. So that’s where Cadō was born. Every technique that I create, I really want to simplify it. I do a class and people can recreate it right away. And I’m using the foundations of whatever it is—cutting, colouring, highlighting, everything. I’m so proud of what it’s created. It’s solid education that really helps stylists take it to the next level. It’s mainly a dry-cutting technique, but you can also do it wet. I’ve created something that’s using the foundations of cutting and colouring hair and making it simple, so making it into a system where stylists can follow it and it will be easy for them to achieve what the client is asking for.
It just fills in the gaps and makes it so much easier to understand. Curls are so different, which makes it fun as well because it’s actually not the simplest thing to do because you could have, like, four different curl types and two different types of porosities on one head. We now have more than 300 stylists that are Cadō certified, and they’re all over the world. It’s so amazing to see.
What advice do you have for hairstylists who are looking to expand their skill sets and learn how to work with all hair textures, including curly and coily hair?
Definitely invest in yourself. Classes can be expensive, but it’s so important to invest in yourself. When you’re working in a salon, it’s easy to just rely on whatever education is given to you. But take classes and invest if you’re interested in something. I always say, “Be a versatile and well-rounded stylist.” Know how to do everything because you don’t know what’s going to be the next trend.
You’ve grown a strong following on social media, with more than 650,000 followers on Instagram. What were the keys to your success?
Hair is my canvas, so Instagram was where I published my art. It was my artistic outlet. I just loved showing my work, and it was free advertising. As soon as I started hair school, I started my page [when Instagram launched] and my business started right away. For a while, I felt like people were just doing what was accepted or whatever Instagram, TikTok and Facebook liked. As soon as I started pushing that to the side, I became more authentic. I never really wanted to show my face. I would just do hair and create videos. And I loved that, too. I was getting attention by creating videos and posting my clients as well. As soon as I started posting myself consulting with clients, I became really known for consultations. It was just real—it wasn’t something I really thought about. I just put my phone there without a tripod or mic and started recording. Don’t put so much pressure on yourself to be, like, Insta-famous. It’s all about using these platforms as your creative outlet, showing people the work you do so that you can attract clients.
You’re an ambassador for Schwarzkopf Professional. What do you most enjoy about your role?
Everyone knows that I’m a diehard Schwarzkopf fan. It was a dream of mine to become an ambassador—and now I am an ambassador! They really feel like family. Whether it’s the Canadian team, pro team or U.S. team, I feel so comfortable working with everyone.
They support me, and they’ve always supported me since before I did curly hair. They supported my balayage and colour corrections. When I started concentrating more on curly hair, they supported me then and they still support me now. It’s a brand that I will work with forever. I only work with brands that I love. I really try to be as authentic as possible. I’m not going to work with any brand unless I can truly use it in my daily salon life.
What’s next for you? Anything you’re working on now that you can share with us?
As of right now, we’re just working on creating beautiful hair. I’m going to Dubai for another workshop. I’m pregnant right now, so I’m holding off on education until next year—2026—to release more dates and classes. As of right now at the salon, we’re just excited to do more hair.
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