Barber opening up shop for P.E.I.'s Black community
'This is for everyone. I'm just creating a niche because I know that Black people need this service'
A P.E.I. barber who specializes in cutting Black people's hair is setting up shop in downtown Charlottetown, to fill what he says is a need on the Island.
Luke Ignace, who also calls himself the Breaking Barber, has been cutting his friends' hair out of his home for almost two years. He's done so largely because of how few options there are on P.E.I., with many hairdressers unable to properly cut Black hair or too afraid to try.
It's a problem Ignace and many of his friends in the Black community have faced. Few options meant many had to cut their own hair or were left to grow it out.
'You look good, you feel good'
It's why Ignace has officially moved his clippers out of his home and will soon be offering haircuts at a salon he's renting on Victoria Row, three days a week.
"This is not a Black-only barbershop. This is for everyone. I'm just creating a niche because I know that Black people need this service," he said.
The service is one that friend Gessy Robin Gislain has been struggling to find until now, recalling experiences with barbers who didn't know the techniques needed to cut his hair.
"They say 'you look good, you feel good,'" he said.
"I know how much a haircut kind of affects my, you know, my well-being in some way, me feeling good, confident and all that. So it kind of is draining a little bit," he said.
Space to 'empower' community
The shop won't just be a place for people to get their haircut, Ignace said, but a space for P.E.I.'s Black community to come together.
"[A] Black barber serves as the glue for the community. He pulls them together and he also helps them connect to others in that community," Ignace said.
"Why not get into a space where I can actually talk to them, empower them? They can empower me and we can then just start working together to make a change out here, you know?"
Robin Gislain agreed, saying a a barbershop in Black culture "is different."
"We talk different. We chat different. Our tones, everything is different."
He said in a barbershop "you get to chat with all the people who've been in your shoes way back then and they know the way around everything and that's a blessing to have that kind of counsel."
Plans to expand
Ignace said he hopes to be able to eventually expand the services his shop offers to women as well, who have their own unique set of needs when it comes to hair.
And even though the shop is operating part time for now, Ignace said being able to make the move from his home to a salon in downtown Charlottetown and create a space dedicated to the Black community is something he's proud of.
"I finally made it to a place where I could move up a bit. You know, I'm just so proud of that. I'm hoping that the community can also be proud of that."
For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of.
