ARTIST CONFIDENTIAL
Hairstylist to the stars Ken Pavés on giving back, working with dignity, and finding Miss Universe
The iconic Ken Pavés—he of the superstar clients and million dollar touch— takes giving back to a whole new level
What can be said of Ken Pavés that hasn’t been said already? The superstar hairstylist, the mane man of the likes of Victoria and David Beckham, Jennifer Lopez, and noughties icon Jessica Simpson, isn’t your typical glam squad member. He’s often front and center along with this celeb clientele, collaborating on shows, products, and other passion projects. Right in the thick of things is where Pavés appears to thrive, whether it’s in an Oscar party with his A-List friends, a congressional hearing with the movers and shakers of United States politics, or in Cabanatuan City, with the poverty-stricken.
It would be easy to dismiss the guy, with his Hollywood connections and jet-set lifestyle, but Ken Pavés isn’t the type to just attend charitable galas and perhaps write a hefty check after; he actually goes to the frontlines, meets with the people, and tries to experience their lives as intimately as he can. Pavés’s philanthropic work is well known among those privvy to his life as he’s been doing it for almost a decade now. For the trip to the Philippines, he’s working with Bright Smiles, a group that offers free surgery to children with cleft lip and palates, a condition that has complications beyond the aesthetic. Pavés knows this very well, as his own nephew was born with it and tragically died as an infant. He recalls as a 17-year
old cradling the baby and begging God to bring him back. “Unless you ever been on the side of the family that’s desperate to help a child, you could never imagine what that feels like,” he says. While he describes himself as having always had a soft heart (as a child, he would watch telethons for the disabled and beg his mom to send money, even when their situation was also dire), that event spurred him to a life of service.
“I saw my mother in every parent that I saw there. I saw my nephew in every child who sat before me,” he says of his trip to Cabanatuan. “Just the dignity and the love and the community that I saw among the Filipinos there.” Pavés stayed several days in the province, filling each day with work alongside Bright Smiles’ team of doctors. Despite his decades of success and wealth, Pavés never forgets his family’s own financial struggles; his intimate understanding of this and his genuine compassion lets him connect with the people he helps out, even with the Filipinos who may not know him from Adam. Perhaps the Cabanatuan residents saw someone familiar beneath the blonde hair and American twang. A kababayan perhaps? Did we mention that Pavés is part Filipino? According to him, his maternal grandfather was born in Zambales and even attended the University of the Philippines before migrating to the US. “All my clients and friends know that I am a super proud Filipino,” says Pavés. “I grew up with a beautiful Filipino-Portuguese mother and immersed in the Filipino culture in Detroit, making adobo, lumpia, and just being really proud to be from here.” He recalls an anecdote crashing a live television segment in New York City, because he happened to see Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach. He was with with his friend and client the American actress Eva Longoria, and the two barged into the room, ecstatic to see Wurtzbach in her sash and crown. “That’s how Filipino proud I am!” he says with a laugh.
In a career studded with successes, what Pavés considers as his biggest milestones are equal parts squeal-inducing and heartwarming. Working with the Queen Mother herself, Oprah, is right at the top. “I was just amazed, the first time she said my name and called me a celebrity hairstylist,” he says. The fact that Oprah also uses her platform to spark change and champions connecting with people from all walks of life speaks of Pavés’s own values, too. When he’s able to make a difference in the lives of people who need it most, those are the things that really matter. He also counts the time when he and Jessica Simpson “walked the steps of [US] congress and lobbied before them to put a bill in place for these types of surgical missions,” as another significant moment. “It all comes back to being of service.”
Pavés radiates warmth and openness, but also displays a kind of wily determination to get things done. This combination pushed him to the very heights in an industry that is riddled with talent and ambition. He credits his struggles growing up, of having the odds stacked up against him. “I grew up in a neighborhood where my dad got a haircut for five dollars and I got a haircut for eight dollars,” he says. He recalls being called names when he first started working in a hair salon, but chose not to listen to them. Instead, he turned to the important people. “My dad said that [since] I was in the service industry, I had to work really hard for people. If I wanted respect, I had to earn it. I had to do something great for them,” he says. “I always worked hard to do what I thought was best, with dignity and integrity.” In the heady world of show business, he believes that what sets him apart and what earned him the trust and confidence of so many high profile and powerful personalities was his way of listening and letting them make their own decisions. “My industry preys on people who are insecure. They need to be validated, [so] we tell them what they need instead of allowing them to decide. I’ve always been a person who’s allowed them to decide.”
To the dreamers who wish to reach his successes, Pavés is adamant about having one’s heart and mind in the right place. “Dream big, but dream with authenticity and with the hope to give dignity to other people,” he says. “Share something great and great things will come to you—don’t listen to any other noise.”
“I
ALWAYS WORKED HARD TO DO WHAT I THOUGHT WAS BEST, WITH DIGNITY AND INTEGRITY”