Pascal Ibgui has always been drawn to women. But not in the way you might think for a former contestant on ABC's "The Golden Bachelorette.”
"At a very young age I got along better with women and felt more comfortable around them than with men,” says the owner of Pascal Pour Elle, a luxury, full-service beauty salon in Glencoe. It was this bond with women that moved Ibgui to pursue a career in hairdressing.
“In France, we have what’s called a professional orientation system,” he says. “If your grades aren’t great, at 13, you can go to a trade school instead of traditional education. I chose beauty school. My parents weren’t happy—they even questioned my choices—but I graduated at 16 and started working in a salon."
Born in Casablanca in 1958, Ibgui moved to Paris with his family after Moroccan independence, growing up modestly outside the city’s fashion scene. That came later.
“My parents came from a hardworking family and had eight of us children; they struggled to feed all those mouths,” says Ibgui, crediting his parents for his work ethic, even if they were initially disappointed about his career choice.
Ibgui was eventually offered a position as a behind-the-scenes stylist for models during Paris Fashion Week. “But after a while I felt like that world was not for me, and I really just wanted to do hair,” he says. “That’s when I decided to change my life and move to the United States.”
His friend Charles Ifergan, now a household name in hair but then a budding salon owner in Chicago’s Gold Coast, offered him a job as an assistant. To make ends meet, Ibgui also worked as a busser and took English classes at the local YMCA.
After years of hard work and building a clientele on Oak Street, Ibgui looked to open his own salon. He and Ifergan opened a salon in Deerfield. But after two years, Ibgui got the entrepreneurial itch yet again and took all the cash he had and what he could borrow to open Pascal Pour Elle on Wells Street, followed by another location in Winnetka.
The 2000s saw tremendous growth for Ibgui, who opened the now flagship Glencoe location in 2000. The success of that salon powered the opening of another location in Glenview in 2005. By then, Ibgui’s thriving business included four salons, a 175-member team, a retail line, and involvement in Chicago Fashion Week.
But it all proved to be a little too much. Looking to slow down, Ibgui closed the multiple locations to focus on the Glencoe salon, which he’s renovated over the years to feature a luxury Parisienne-like design and large retail store. The salon offers a wide variety of hairstyling services, from color to cuts, extensions, and more, as well as skin treatments like facials, laser hair removal, and injectables.
It was his daughter who suggested Ibgui try out to be on Season 1 of "The Golden Bachelorette" at the age of 68. He applied once he saw the bachelorette was Joan Vassos, a stunning 61-year-old widow.
Ibgui made it to the final stages of the show but chose to leave, realizing there wasn’t a future with Vassos.
“I don’t regret going on the show; it was an incredible experience and I am grateful to have been a part of it,” says Ibgui, adding that he even formed bonds with the other men and learned how to open up emotionally.
Now, he’s turned his attention back to his true loves: his children, grandchildren, and the North Shore clients he serves.
“We have strong relationships with our clients and like to stay active in the community,” says Ibgui, who also works with several charities to “give back to people who grew up in need like I did.”
Reflecting on his career, Ibgui says he "worked very hard over the years and there have been a lot of bumps in the road, but it seems like I have built up an incredible organization. I’ve never been so happy."