My Story

A Little About Me —

I’m introverted & neurodivergent.
If you’re looking for a quiet appointment, you’re in the right place. No-pressure, no-talking appointments are always welcome. I usually just go off your vibe~ Whether you want to chat the whole time or enjoy the silence, I’m happy either way!

Outside of the salon…
You’ll usually find me playing video games, reading (romantasy usually lol), crocheting, watching anime, diving into a manga, or putting on a new horror movie. I’m definitely a homebody at heart! And one thing about me is that I love chihuahuas ♥ I have 2 beautiful apple head girls named Gaby and Emma ₍^. .^₎Ⳋ

Oh and all photos on my website were taken by me! 🎞️

My Hair Journey —

Hi, I’m Tai! ₊˚⊹ ✦ I was born and raised on O‘ahu, Hawai‘i, and after high school, I made the move to San Francisco to attend the Academy of Art University, where I pursued a degree in illustration.

I graduated during the start of COVID and by then, I already had a feeling that illustration wasn’t the career path I wanted to follow. But one thing I knew for sure was that I couldn’t imagine myself doing something that wasn’t creative. I’ve always loved making things with my hands, expressing myself through art, and finding beauty in things that feel a little different.

Growing up on the island, I actually did my own hair a lot because I felt like I could never quite find someone who understood the haircuts I was envisioning in my head. I was also a huge nerd (still am) and was always drawn to things that weren’t necessarily popular or mainstream. I know what it feels like to feel a little different or like you don’t quite belong, and I think that’s a big part of why individuality and self-expression mean so much to me today.

Eventually, I decided to give cosmetology school a try and funny enough, I went into it thinking I was going to become a color specialist lol.

Haircuts absolutely terrified me.

I’m a perfectionist, and I actually cried after doing my first haircut in school because I hated the feeling of not knowing what I was doing. But that’s also just how I am; if something scares me because I don’t know how to do it, I want to learn until it doesn’t scare me anymore.

So I practiced. A lot.

And somewhere along the way, the thing that scared me the most became the thing I loved the most!

Haircutting started to feel like sculpting with my hands. I was creating again, just like I had in art school, only this time my canvas was a real person. That completely changed things for me. There’s something so special about being able to create something with my hands and then see someone, real, light up with confidence because they feel good in it.

After working as a hairstylist in San Francisco, I eventually decided it was time to make the big move back home to O‘ahu to be closer to my family and continue building my career here.

Today, I’ve chosen to dedicate myself to the craft of haircutting. I’m always learning, taking classes, and refining my skills because I truly believe there is always more room to grow~

At the end of the day, hair is another form of art and self-expression to me. My hope is to create a space where you feel comfortable being yourself, feeling a little more confident, a little more understood, and most importantly, more like you… with a really great haircut, of course ♥︎