Interview With Tabatha Coffey

AE: As a hair stylist, you're part of the fashion and beauty industry. Do you feel that there's more of a tendency to be mean in this industry?
TC: No, and again I don't think it's meanness. I think it's honesty.

When I'm dealing with a client I want to be honest with you, because I want to make sure that … I can help you to look a certain way. … If something isn't going to work for you, why would I say, "Oh yes, OK, I'm going to do that haircut," and know in the back of my mind it's never going to work on your hair type, it's not going to suit your face, it's not going to suit your lifestyle. That's not fair to you. You're going to walk out and hate your hair, and then you're going to think I'm a crap hairdresser.

So you need to be honest with people. In the case of the show, I have to be honest with them because I only have a week to spend with them. So for me to go in and not be really honest up front and get to the bottom of their problems and the crux of it, I'm genuinely not going to help them. And that's what I want to do, is help them.

AE: Say you have a friend who's in need of a bit of a style makeover. How would you suggest approaching them and pushing them in that direction?
TC: With something like that, it's a dialogue, and it's asking them the right questions about how long since they've changed their look, or what do you think is working about your hair. There's a way of doing it, because ultimately you want someone to feel good about themselves. …

I think sometimes people don't know. Sometimes people want someone else's advice because they don't really know what they should be doing, and they really elicit that. So I'd start a dialogue. … "Look, you've got beautiful eyes. Your eyes are really beautiful; if you cut your bangs this way or that way, it would really bring your eyes out." Or: "Your complexion's really great. If you did this kind of color, it would really make your complexion glow. You'd be able to do this; you'd be able to do that; you'd show off your cheekbones." And it just kind of follows through from there.

AE: In Shear Genius, your personal life had nothing to do with the show. Does that ever come up in this new series?
TC: No, not really. I mean, my personal life is my personal life … and the two [personal and professional] are very separate for me.

AE: Are you in a relationship right now?
TC: I am. I've been in a relationship for 10 years. So, nice long-term relationship.

AE: How does your partner feel about you being on this show?
TC: Really, really, really supportive, which is great. I wouldn't be able to do it without the support. I have a great support system at home. I know that I'm all taken care of and there's someone there that cares about me and is rooting me on, wants this to be really successful for me.

AE: Well, now that you can get married in California, would you ever get married?
TC: Wow, that's a big question, isn't it? Um, I think everyone needs to do what's right for them. I think the stigma needs to change. … It's just bizarre in the day and age that we live in [that] that's still something that's negated, that we don't have the rights of a heterosexual couple, and that's something that I find highly annoying.

But then I think the choice comes down to if it's right for you, if it's the right circumstance, and to do it for the right reasons, because marriage shouldn't be taken lightly whether it's gay marriage or straight marriage.

AE: On the surface it seems that you have a lot of similarities with the star of another show on Bravo. You and Jackie Warner are both strong women, blondes, and kind of have a dominatrix vibe, I've gotta say.
TC: [laughs] Really?

AE: I think so.
TC: Fantastic! I love a dominatrix vibe.

AE: You love it?
TC: I do actually. I don't mind a dominatrix vibe.

AE: Do you cultivate that? [laughs]
TC: No, I don't cultivate it at all, but you know, I have no problem with it. [laughs]

AE: Have you watched Work Out?
TC: Yeah, absolutely, and I've met Jackie a few times.

AE: How do you think you guys are similar or different?
TC: You know, Jackie's a strong woman. She's a small business owner, she needs to take care of her business, and she has to be strong to do that and sometimes say things that people find uncomfortable.

AE: So you have no problem with her directness, obviously.
TC: I have no problem with Jackie and her directness. She's doing what she needs to do to take care of herself.