Launching his career in London in the '60s when experimentation in beauty and “God only knows what else,” was at its zenith, Jason Keas was a teen styling apprentice who was destined to become one of the beauty world's most intriguing artists. Either by chance or a twist of fate, Keas grew up next door to Raymond “Teasie-Weasie” Bessone, an outrageous and celebrated London stylist who was the first crimper to perform his beauty magic for television in the early '50s. After Keas realized that his efforts as a ho player would not lead to a comfortable living—“How many classical French hoists have become a commercial success?” he asks—he chose an alteative art form that could also be quite lucrative: hair. “Teasie-Weasie lived a grand lifestyle that was filled with pomp-circumstance, but beyond his showy persona, he was a genuine artist,” Keas relates. “It was the ‘successful' and ‘art' elements that really caught my attention.”
Affectionately dubbed the “Englishman” by the American beauty press, Keas has plied his special brand of beauty on two continents—Europe and North America—both as a salon owner and stylist. While managing his business, Keas has created images for MAC Cosmetics, Joico, Schwarzkopf, Keratin Complex, GKHair, and La Coupe, just to name a few companies. And his work has been published in nearly all beauty trade publications, as well as high-flying consumer magazines such as Vogue and Elle. Keas continues to sharpen his skills at his Keas Davidson salon in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and in the studio where his methodical yet out-of-this-world approach to photography has consistently eaed him kudos as a great session artist and an art director.
To make his work both mesmerizing and timeless— two attributes he's known for and always delivers—Keas follows some of these very basic rules - his rules: “My models never wear shoes unless it's a retro image,” he notes. “And I usually don't have them wear any clothes, unless they have a costume effect. I never go for the obvious when creating a photo shoot concept. And, I use hair as an art medium, rather than showcasing a trend. The latter is a passing fancy that will only thrill audiences for a very short while. When you treat hair as an art form, your images can be appreciated for the moment and, hopefully, for a very long time to come.”
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