Tabatha Coffey: A Cut Above the Rest

A few days ago I had the unbelievable opportunity to chat with Tabatha Coffey, one of TV's most fabulous females and the star of "Tabatha's Salon Takeover." Long story short, the outspoken Aussie is amazing! I've been a fan of hers ever since the first season of "Shear Genius," and having the chance to talk with her about her past, present, and future was a true treat.

Don't forget to tune in to the season finale of "Tabatha's Salon Takeover" on Tuesday, January 12 at 10 p.m. on Bravo to see the high priestess of hair tame a sassy manager, train a snippy stylist, and attempt to rescue a failing salon in Illinois!

What initially excited you about hair?
"I don't remember a defining moment. I just always remember loving hair. I was the typical kid that played with her Barbie's hair and kind of chopped it off and did things with it. I was always fascinated. My parents owned clubs when I was young, and they had dancers in their clubs, and I would sit backstage and watch them pin curl wigs and set wigs, and they taught me how to pin curl and put hot rollers in wigs. And I just always had this fascination for hair."

When, then, did you know that you wanted a career in hair?
"Again, I don't think there was a defining moment. When I was 14, I started hairdressing, and I told my mother that I wanted to be a hairdresser. And that's when I started working in a salon. I actually worked in a salon for a year for free, and obviously I couldn't do very much, but I cleaned and would observe people and help however I could in the salon, and just totally fell in love with it. I've been hairdressing ever since."

How did your move to London as a teenager affect you as a stylist?
"It was huge. I mean London was kind of the Mecca of hairdressing at the time, and all the famous-name hairdressers and training academies were there. For me, I moved to London because I wanted to advance my career, and I wanted to retrain and learn more, and London seemed the place to do that for a hairdresser at the time, and that's what I did."

Did you luck out? Were you in the right place at the right time?
"I don't know if it's luck. I have always worked very hard, and I have always demanded a lot of myself, and I always want to better myself. At that time, London was definitely the place to give me more experience and more training within the hairdressing field."

What finally propelled you to start your own business, Industrie Hair Gurus?
"I owned a salon for eight years, and I was education director for another salon and training all of their staff, and they had a very extensive staff, and it was great. And I just decided that there were always things I wanted to change, and I wished that I had the power and the authority to change certain things. Opening my own salon was the only way that I could really fulfill all the needs that I wanted to give to a client, and all the things that I wanted to do as a stylist."

Why did you decide to open your salon in Ridgewood, New Jersey, as opposed to perhaps New York City or Los Angeles?
"At the time it was just right for me. I was working in New Jersey already. I had a clientele in New Jersey. So it was the obvious place to open a salon."

Have you ever considered opening a salon in LA?
"Absolutely. I never rule any opportunity out, because then I think it just makes you close-minded to business altogether, and as a business owner you can't do that. So I would love to expand, and I would love to have a salon in LA. I actually would love a training academy, and that's something that I'm thinking about ... actually being able to do more education and more training for hairdressers out there."

How do you differ from other high-profile stylists?
"I've been an educator for ... well, probably close to 12, 14 years now, and it's something that I really love. I really enjoy working with other hairdressers, teaching other hairdressers and expanding their knowledge, and while I'm working with hairdressers I find that I learn a lot as well. So the education portion is probably what does make me a little bit different and what I love about my career."

Before we get to "Takeover," I can't not ask about "Shear Genius." I was a huge fan. You were robbed during the first season. Does that loss still sting, or do you feel that you triumphed in the long run?
"Thank you! You know what ... I think things turn out for a reason. I had a bad day when I was eliminated on 'Shear Genius.' It was a bad day for me, and I wasn't happy about it. obviously. America saw I wasn't happy about it at the time. [Laughs] But everything does work out for a reason, and I wish everyone else well. We all have our career paths."

Your fans, including myself, are dying to know if you're going to be making an appearance on Season 3 of "Shear Genius."
"Yes, I am. I will be making a guest appearance. I'm one of the judges on one of the episodes."

Will you please put Jonathan [Antin] in his place? That would make my dreams come true.
"That is good TV right there!"

In addition to "Shear Genius," we've seen you on "Make Me a Supermodel," "Tyra," and "The Biggest Loser." Do you enjoy these appearances?
"I actually love all of them. I love the appearances, and I love the fact that every show I've been on has been different, which is really fun for me. I have a real soft spot for 'Biggest Loser.' I absolutely adore it. I love working on that show and working on the contestants and doing their makeovers. It's always incredibly inspirational to me."

OK, let's talk "Takeover." When Bravo initially contacted you to do your own series, was it nerve-racking? Was it exciting?
"When 'Shear Genius' finished, I actually got a phone call from Bravo, and they asked me if I would go in and meet with them in their offices in New York, and I did. And they asked me how I felt about doing my own show for them. I was floored. It's not what I expected at all from the meeting. I didn't actually even know why I was having a meeting, and I was thrilled. I was beyond thrilled."

Can you talk a little bit about the casting? How do you find willing participants?
"The salons actually nominate themselves. Sometimes it's the business owner that nominates himself, sometimes it's the stylist that nominates the salon, and then we kind of go from there."

Over the course of the past two seasons, we've seen at least seven LA area salons featured on your show. Is there a reason for that? Are LA-based salons really that bad?
"[Laughs] A lot of people actually just applied from LA. You know, the thing that I loved about Season 2 is the fact that we did travel more, and you actually saw different parts of the country, and I think that was really -- it was really exciting for me -- and, I also think it's really exciting for the viewers."

This season, the owner of Silverlake's Refuge Salon drove me, and I think you, bonkers. Was she the most frustrating person to work with this year?
"No, not necessarily. I mean, Marion was frustrating to me because she didn;t necessarily want to listen, but I feel like in the end she really did realize that she needed to grow up and needed to pay attention to her business. So I feel that although she was a little frustrating in the beginning, and she wouldn't listen to me and she kind of made fun of me, in the end she really did have an epiphany and started to come around."

Can you talk a little bit about the owner of Miami's Brownes & Co.? Was she aggravating? She clearly didn't appreciate anything that you did for her or her business.
"Yeah, it was disappointing. I really tried my best. It was disappointing for me that it didn't kind of ... it didn't seem to matter what way I tackled any situation with her within her business. She didn't seem to want to take responsibility for me, and I felt really disappointed because I really wanted to help the staff. So when I went back and found that everything was back to normal and how it was when I first got there, I felt really disappointed for them. I wasn't able to turn it around for them and change the situation."

Excuse my language, but do you ever get tired of being called a bitch? Do you own it? How do you feel about the word?
"I think people use the word 'bitch' because I'm a strong, assertive woman, and they don't know what else to call me. If I wasn't a woman, I don't think people would call me a bitch. I think it's a shame that when there is a woman that is strong and doesn't mind speaking her mind there is no other word that can be used except for 'bitch.' But I do own it because I have my own definition of what a bitch is. It's brave, intelligent, talented, creative, and honest. And I am all those things, so I guess I am a bitch."

I know you visit the salons six weeks after the initial makeover, but do you really keep in touch with the participants?
"Oh, sure I do. I swear. I had a phone call from one of the owners this morning. I have had e-mails and phone calls from the guys at Chicago Male. I've been in contact with the people from Eclectic Salon. I'm in contact with a lot of the people from Season 1 and from Season 2, and it's great because I really want to help them. I really want their businesses to do well, so I love it when I get feedback from them, and I hear that they're doing well. It's great when they check in with me. I love it."

You're obviously a master stylist and educator, but are you interested in interior design?
"Absolutely. Am I a trained interior designer? Absolutely not. Do I know what works in a hairdressing salon? Sure I do, because I basically live in one. [Laughs] So, you know, if you ask me to come into your house and design it, I would have a heart attack. That is so not my thing, but when it comes to the flow of a salon, certain colors work and certain colors aren't very good for showing hair color. But, yes, I'm really interested in it and interested in the makeover portion that we do in the show."

You're brutally honest with the show's participants. Does it ever get uncomfortable?
"I'm not uncomfortable. I want to help them. I know it sounds redundant when I keep saying it, but it's the truth, and I'm doing a disservice to them and to their businesses if I'm not honest about it. Look, if a stylist needs to take a step back because they were put behind a chair too early, it's not to demote them or to hurt their career; it's actually to help their career so that they get a little more education so that they're comfortable doing clients' hair, and it's setting them up for success, not failure."

What about the crying?
"You know, the crying thing ... I feel bad that people cry, yet, you know what, not really. People react that way because they don't know how to respond to things. I don't believe that you break down and start crying at work. I believe that you're there to learn and you're there to do your work. If you're having a bad day, then you deal with that outside and out of your clients' and out of your work colleagues' faces."

Time for a few random questions. I went to the Los Angeles premiere of the Chris Rock documentary "Good Hair" and I was wondering if you had seen it.
"I sure have. I had a huge conversation about it today with a client."

Well, after I saw the film, I became entranced by the magnitude of hair shows. Are they really that insane?
"Yeah, hair shows are huge. I actually said today that I want to go to that [hair show in the film] and judge it. I have never been. I've been to a similar hair show in Chicago that's targeted to African-American hairdressers and clients. Look, hair shows are amazing. I'm doing one at the end of the month in Long Beach, [California], and it's relatively small in hair show terms, but Orlando, Chicago, and Vegas, which are some of the biggest shows, can get a hundred thousand people in a weekend. Hairdressers travel from all over to go to these shows, and it's truly insane. For anyone that's never experienced a hair show, it's the most amazing, electrifying feeling."

Tell me about your current cut and color, your signature look.
"I have really, really crappy hair. I have baby fine hair. It's really, really straight, and it just isn't good hair, so it looks much better on me shorter than longer. It just works much better, which is why I wear it short, and I'm naturally fair. I'm obviously not this blonde, but I'm naturally really fair anyway, and I like it really blonde. You know, I guess it has become a signature look. My haircut just works, so it's a little boring. It tweaks a little bit -- a little shorter and longer every now and then -- but it's just easy."

Do you ever think about becoming a brunette?
"I toy with the idea every now and then, like all women out there. I made a phone call to my best friend a couple of months ago and said, 'I think I'm going to go brown.' And he basically freaked out across the phone and told me that I was a moron and not to even contemplate it. You know what, look, I like being blonde. I think it suits me. Would I change at some point? Sure. Do I have a plan to? Not at the moment."

Why are you always dressed in black?
"Black is kind of a hairdressers' color, and part of the reason is because it does look professional and it makes everyone look kind of pulled together and part of a team. And the other reason that hairdressers wear black is because it doesn't detract from the client. It doesn't take away or clash with the client. It becomes about the client. We kind of neutralize ourselves out."

Can you talk at all about any trends for 2010 whether it comes to styles or cutting techniques?
"For women, there's definitely much more movement in the hair. For a long time everyone just kept wearing stick straight, and there's definitely more of a tousled kind of feel, whether it be a natural wave or set in wave so hair has a little bit more movement, a little bit more volume, and a little bit more texture to it, which is nice. You know for women there are a lot of hair accessories that are around at the moment that people will see for spring that are really big. Little clips and hair bands and things like that are kind of interesting. They can be age-appropriate for many different ages. It's kind of a fun way to dress up a style. And for guys, there's a lot of rocker-y hair, which is nice. It's a little bit lived in and a little bit textured, but has a little bit of a rocker, looser feel, not quite as structured, which is what a lot of the European models have been wearing."

Do you have any desire to comment on Kate Gosselin's new 'do for 2010?
"I saw that she had extensions in her hair. It is different. I guess it looks better. I don't know if I love it, but I guess it looks better. It sure as hell looks better than what she had before!"

Have you ever worked on any of your fellow Bravo stars from the "Real Housewives" of Jersey or New York?
"[Laughs] I love that question! No!"

Are there any celebrities that you would love to get your hands on? Is there somebody you would love to style?
"There are a lot ... probably a lot that I think already look great and who have a great head of hair that I would love to play with. Denise Richards is one; I think she has fantastic hair. I wouldn't mind getting my hands in it and maybe updating it a little bit. I think Taylor Swift's hair looks nice at the moment and could be kind of pushed out a little bit more to make it look a little fresher as well."

How much is too much to pay for a haircut? What about products?
"Look, I think there are things that are applicable to every price range, depending on what you're comfortable paying. I think the biggest thing is happiness. And I don't think anyone minds paying for anything as long as they feel that they're getting something that makes them look great, works, lives up to its promise, and makes them really happy. I think a lot of women are dissatisfied with their hair and with the products they're using because they haven't been guided properly and they don't know what they're doing, and they feel like they're paying too much. And it's not because it's necessarily the money, it's just that they're not happy with the outcome."

OK, well that pretty much wraps everything up. I honestly can't thank you enough for the chat. I really, really appreciate it.
"You're welcome! Thanks for talking to me. It was fun."

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