The Disney version of Tarin Cooper’s story would go something like this:
Twin princesses with bright pumpkin-colored hair grow up to become hair stylists with one, Tarin Cooper, having spent her kidhood in the magic kingdom of Alameda, returning to share her special powers with anyone and everyone willing to sit in her royal chair.
Gifted with scissors, clippers, comb, and brush, our fair heroine recently opened up Once Upon a Hair Design, located at Studio 21 in the Sola Salon Building, across from Trabocco and Janene’s Bridal boutique at Southshore. And while the many other hair salons are not the dreaded enemy, with dragons and spells and wands and cackles, loyalty is the coin of the realm as people build strong relationships with those they trust to trim their tresses.
Long gone are the days when this author was sent as a youngster to the nearby barber shop to get the ubiquitous “regular boy’s haircut.” Customers today are perhaps more particular than ever, influenced by the many influencers they see on social media and regular old media like magazines and TV shows. And so when someone new shows up, offering themselves as a key member of Team Adorable You, it’s a good idea to get to know them. And a good place to start is with 5Q4: Tarin Cooper.
At what moment did you discover that you wanted to be a hair artist?
There are so many things to say about this question. I’ll start by saying that I have always loved the arts, whether it be painting, sewing, sculptures, or even Japanese anime. All art is amazing to me—the colors, details, shapes, figures, lines, the reason behind the art, and of course the history. I have always wanted to pursue some sort of art but I could not draw to save my life, metaphorically speaking. I am okay at it but not what I would like it to be.
I grew up with three sisters—one of them is my twin. We both had a very unusual and beautiful hair color. This red hair color is very rare and everyone either loves it or hates it. I remember my grandmother had natural red hair that faded as she got older. When my twin and I were in school, students and teachers always commented on our hair, how pretty it was or how weird it was, and some of them even touched our hair without our permission. It was traumatizing at times but we got past it. Our hair was our favorite thing about us at the time. We got attention and compliments. We liked it.
As we got older, our older sisters would braid our long red hair in so many crazy, fun, funny, cool ways. My twin and I loved it and so did many others—it definitely was a showstopper. In high school, my twin and I were the only students that took our hair game to the next level. At one point my twin cut her hair in a short pixie cut and colored it black, while I had burgundy hair, three different colors at once, with a very layered haircut. It was awesome at the time. Doing all kinds of things to our hair helped to express who we wanted to be. We were so fascinated by hair and the art that comes with it. We both shared such a passion for creativity, and we were even better together.
After high school my twin went straight to beauty school. I loved it and wanted to do the same, but I wanted to be a pediatric nurse to help children. However, when I started on that path something did not feel right. I had a conversation with my “thing 2,” who was loving beauty school and told me all about it. So I decided to choose beauty school instead of nursing, and wow, was I delighted and so happy.
I love doing hair, the freedom to be creative, vintage hairstyles, color theory, and making someone very happy.
Who was the most influential person who helped you achieve your goal?
I don’t just have one person. There are a handful of people who are closest to my heart that I absolutely have to mention. The love of my life, my husband Manny. He is my rock, my salvation, and inspiration. He has helped me along my journey to where I am today. He has helped guide me, understands me, pushes me to my limit, believes in me, supports me, and is with me every step of the way with love and patience.
Next I want to mention my mentor Lyindi, my first boss, who took a chance on me and ran with it. She taught me so much, including how to cut hair, blow dry, clipper cuts, and more. If it wasn’t for her I don’t know where I would be in this field of hair.
I would also like to mention my twin sister, because we always shared the same love of hair and always stayed by each other’s side when it became hard to be who we are. She helped push me to stay creative and to always have something we can enjoy together—I love and appreciate that about her, my “thing 2.”
The last person I want to mention is my auntie Michelle. In my younger years she was my biggest supporter in all the things I did, especially when it came to any form of art. She was and is one of the best people to have known. I love and miss her.
A few honorable mentions: The old 2017-2019 crew at Great Clips here in Alameda were amazing and lovely people to work with, and they taught me a lot. All other salons here in Alameda, thank you for the knowledge that you have shown me. Finally, thank you, city of Alameda, for letting people be who they are and giving them the opportunity to have a business of their own.
Tell me about the best experience you’ve had as a hair artist?
There have been so many wonderful experiences while being in the hair industry. This is an easy question, but I don’t have an easy answer because I want to talk about all of them. However, I will talk about one very awesome experience that I had very recently. On October 7, I had a hair client come in for a transformation hair appointment. By this I mean she wanted something very different. For the first time, I had full control of everything. I had no unreasonable quota to meet, no judgment, no rush, and no boss that could dictate what I could or could not do. I was able to be free to create a great experience for my client with my undivided attention.
My client was so happy with her hair she was speechless. I was humbled to see how happy she was. It made me feel so great to be able to help someone bring out the beauty and confidence they might have forgotten they have. I honestly surpassed my expectations. Her new hair looked so beautiful on her. I look forward to growing and learning more to ensure that I can keep helping people feel the best they can while looking slay and getting the happiness they deserve.
Conversely, tell us about a pretty bad experience?
This is a very traumatizing experience that I had on my journey of getting to where I am today. I will share this because we all might go through this or have gone through this. I just want other hair stylists to know and be aware of bad things or situations that might happen that are out of your control.
I was working for a company here in Alameda, a well-known place whose name I’ll not mention. I had been a hair stylist for this company for six months, and had a client who did not want to pay for services I provided. I had explained how much, how it worked and how long it could take, so there would be no surprises. The process was very difficult and it took me five hours to complete the work. When the work was done, the client refused to pay. The store honored their wishes, saying the customer was always right, but it was a huge slap in the face to me. The store managers told me to let it go, but I felt I had been taken advantage of and treated with disrespect. There were more complications that I’ll not get into, but what I took from this was a greater commitment and eagerness to work for myself.
Any advice to folks out there hoping to pursue a life in the arts?
It can be difficult, traumatizing, unfair, take too long to get to where you want to be, hurtful, and downright not easy to work with a lot of people. However, it will eventually make you stronger and more confident, and will give you more empathy toward others. You will have more knowledge and more of a drive to have the things you want. It will also teach you patience, discipline, and what not to do. I personally take my bad experiences that were given to me and use them to my advantage. For example, from the unfortunate times I’ve been through in my life I have come to understand that the hunger for survival means more to me than the bad times. Remember the famous line from The Lion King: “The past can hurt, but you can either run from it or learn from it.”
Gene Kahane is the founder of the Foodbank Players, a lifelong teacher, and former Poet Laureate for the City of Alameda. Reach him at [email protected]. His writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Gene-Kahane.
