The Ticat Tamer: Meet the Hamilton stylist doing the hair of Grey Cup-bound players this week
CBC
She grew up playing with her dolls' hair, but now Lohifa Pogoson-Acker is designing the manes of some high-profile cats — the Grey Cup-bound Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
"Oskee Wee Wee," the 36-year-old Nigerian-Canadian yelled in her home hair studio, wearing a black sweater with a gold cardigan.
"All week I'm going to be wearing these colours. All week. I don't care if I have to wear the same clothes all week, I want that energy going, that winning energy going."
With the Grey Cup game against Winnipeg Blue Bombers this Sunday, she's seen notable names walk through her front door this week, including Bralon Addison, Dave Watford, Don Jackson, Tim White, Papi White and Chris Frey Jr. — all players who will have final team practices and the CFL awards Friday evening before the big CFL game.
Such a big week comes with the need for a special 'do.
"I like to consider myself a specialty stylist. What I do involves pattern styling, so we can do cornrows, we can do twists, some of them have dreadlocks ... I style their locks, I interlock them or retwist them and do them with those," she said.
While she may be busy styling high-profile clients, Pogoson-Acker has only been doing hair full time for two years.
Before that, she grew up in Nigeria and the U.K., where she styled hair of family, friends and fellow students in boarding school. She said she also worked in family salons and even ran her own out of her parent's garage as a side hustle after they immigrated to Vancouver in 2000.
Her full-time work included international development and health-system strengthening overseas before landing in Hamilton in 2012 to work as a project coordinator at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton.
She said former Ticat Adrian Tracy approached Pogoson-Acker after hearing a glowing endorsement of her hairstyling.
She impressed Tracy, who later brought in then Ticat Nikita Whitlock.
Fast forward two years. Pogoson-Acker decided to try hairstyling full time out of her home on the Mountain, and said she's worked with about 20 Ticats now, past and present.
After spending up to four hours styling their hair, she sends them to local barbers Yoshi Al and Jayy Way Fade, who cut the players' hair.
Ticat running back Don Jackson, also known as hip-hop artist Don Jayy, called Pogoson-Acker "extremely talented."
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