Hairdresser Spotlight: Jacob Khan, The Comedian Turned Hair Artist Who’s Redefining Education

Punk Rock Beginnings

"I was in a bunch of punk bands," Jacob recalls. "All my friends wanted crazy hair but couldn't afford to get it done. I wasn't nervous about it—I'd just say, 'I'll do it.' So I kind of became the unofficial hairdresser of the local punk scene."

From Comedy to Cosmetology

By the time he turned 18, Jacob enrolled in cosmetology school—not because he saw a clear future in hair, but because he thought it might help fund his true dream: stand-up comedy. "I figured I'd do hair until comedy took off. But then I fell in love with it," he says. The creativity, the energy, the opportunity—it all clicked. "It was more than just cutting friends' hair in a bathroom—I saw what was possible in this industry, and I threw myself into it."

However, his performer's spirit never left. "I've always wanted to be on stage," he says. "If I wasn't going to pursue entertainment full time, hair needed to scratch that itch." For Jacob, education was the way in. "I started at a Paul Mitchell school, and all eyes were on the platform artists, the ones on the DVD covers," he remembers with a laugh. "That's who I wanted to be."

A Unique Approach to Education

His teaching style, like his career, is anything but conventional. Known for his sharp technical skills and quick wit, Jacob brings humor into education in a way that's entirely his own. "I don't think we ever sat down and said, 'Let's be funny but not too goofy,'" he explains. "It's just who we are. Most of the stuff we say on stage is off the cuff. What you see on social media is what you get in real life."

The Stage & Social Media

He credits social media with expanding the stage—but it's the real-time reaction from audiences that still lights him up. "At ABS, I styled some bangs on stage and got an actual applause break," he laughs. "That kind of moment is electric." In the classroom, he says that while the rewards are quieter, they're just as meaningful. "When someone tells me they used something they learned in class and it changed their business? That's everything."

The Fancy Brand

Jacob's passion for supporting hairdressers extends beyond education. With his business partner Matt—who isn't a hairdresser—they launched Fancy, a brand that offers high-quality scissors without eye-watering prices, as well as a razor and apparel. "The name is sarcastic," Jacob says. "Matt would watch these super serious platform artists in suits and be like, 'Wow, they're so fancy.' We don't take ourselves seriously—but we do take the craft seriously."

At its core, Fancy isn't about undercutting the market—it's about honoring the artist. "We price things fairly and we support education," Jacob says. "We want this to be a business, not a charity, but we also want to feel good about what we're putting into the industry."

Looking Forward

As he looks ahead, Khan is focused on deepening the impact of cutting education and continuing to inspire the next generation of hairdressers. His parting words? "Come to Hb Fest in Palm Springs!" Spoken like someone who knows that the most powerful education still happens in real life, in community, with scissors in hand.