Meet Arien Taylor | Hairstylist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Arien Taylor and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Arien, what’s something about your industry that outsiders are probably unaware of?
The beauty industry is ever changing. I think when most people think about what it is to be hairstylist, they assume we get to play with hair and make people pretty, and while this is true, it’s also learning how to pivot with the world, immerging trends and staying current in continued education so that we can accommodate vastly different types of guests. Being a chemist when formulating colors or prescribing products, and learning how to be a photographer and a content creator so that your brand gets pushed out to consumers. There is so much that goes into being an entrepreneur in the beauty industry and its over saturated with so many companies that only want to make a transaction. As a stylist, trying to make sure the most accurate knowledge is conveyed to my guests is my top priority.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
As a hairstylist, I’ve always liked to view my self as an artist, hair is just my medium. I never thought that I would be doing hair but I love everything about it! I get to connect with so many people and help them feel the most beautiful, it’s such a rewarding career to have. Like many people, I attended a university right after high school. At the time I felt very lost and was just going through the motions of day to day life. Finally I had to have a real conversation and ask myself “what are you working towards?” I didn’t want to have a career that I didn’t love and look forward to being at for years to come. So I attended cosmetology school. Here I was able to find a career path which propelled me into being an entrepreneur and I’m grateful to have landed where I am at today. At the beginning of my career there was some struggle of figuring out where I fit into such a large industry but after a while I thought back to my childhood and being a young biracial girl with a hair texture much different from my mothers. I realized then that I wanted to help other women to love their natural hair and teach them how to properly care for it rather than fighting against it. Now, curls and texture is my main focus. I love enhancing the life in curly hair and showing people that it doesn’t have to be a struggle to look and feel beautiful. We all are, it just takes some quality education and a smidge of patience.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I like to be the person to give people an experience that makes them never want to leave so when my friends come to visit we always start our days with my favorite meal, brunch! Some of my go to spots are Yolk near the arts plaza and Craftway Kitchen. They are both fairly lowkey with outdoor seating and great drinks. For activities to take up our day I love taking people to the farmers market to checkout local vendors, Bishop Arts District, and if we have time I may even drive out to Fort Worth to visit The Casual Cat Cafe to play with kittens. From here we might grab a snack at Cake 4 One which offers unique cakes in a jar or Sablon for my chocolate lovers because you can never go wrong with their desserts! To round off our night for drinks some of the spots I like to visit include Daqs Daquiris in Plano and of course the Reunion Tower to take in the sights of Dallas.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would never be in the place I am with my business and mindset if it wasn’t for my tribe! The mentors I had while interning at my first salon set me up to truly understand hair as a medium of my craft. Whether is was understanding geometry behind haircuts or the chemistry of coloring, for them I am truly grateful. I then moved to a salon in a small town and made connections with other creatives who helped me to understand the importance of setting foundations within my business. I am now located at Republic Hair Co. here in Dallas and I’ve found another community which has given me nothing but open arms and to the push to truly thrive. Lastly, my family, from day one I have been shown nothing but support in my efforts along this journey and whenever I felt lost I always had a shoulder to lean on. My family is everything to me and to them I want to say thank you. I’ve been blessed to have support throughout my life specifically from my mom and my partner, Saiquan. Without their encouragement and love I don’t know that I would be in the same place in life, striving for greatness!

Website: https://republichairco.com/

Instagram: @artistrybyarien

Image Credits
Dale Carty II – for 2 photos of me working behind the chair in salon Carrie Strong – for the photo of the model with afro and red lipstick