Celebrity hairstylist duo Neeko and Tanya Abriol have over 40 years of combined industry experience. Neeko is known for his multi-texture hair expertise and his short-hair game. He has owned five salons and currently sees guests in a private studio in Beverly Hills. Tanya is a renowned hairstylist and colorist who collaborates with top designers and creates runway hairstyles and magazine covers for Vogue, Elle, People, Harper’s Bazaar, and Marie Claire.
Neeko is an edgy, unorthodox, four-time North American Hairstylist Award winner for the Editorial Select category, 3-time Daytime Emmy nominee, and 2024 Daytime Emmy winner for Outstanding Hairstylist on television. He created Halle Berry’s iconic short haircut, and his work has graced celebrities like Jada Pinkett Smith’s Red Table Talks and Charlize Theron’s Short Hair. Neeko has created looks for Nathalie Emmanuel in Game of Thrones and the Fast and Furious films and in music videos for Missy Elliott, Pink, Lil’ Kim, Jennifer Hudson, and Mary J. Blige. He was the key hairstylist for America’s Next Top Model for seven seasons with Tyra Banks, and he directed hair teams for New York, Los Angeles, London, Italy, and India Fashion Week for 15 seasons.
Tanya creates stunning looks for celebrities and is a Local 706 hairdresser. Her work has been seen on Sandra Bullock in Bird Box and Ocean’s Eight, Christina Aguilera on The Voice, Kate Hudson in Little White Lie and Truth Be Told, and Salma Hayek, Gwyneth Paltrow, Renée Zellweger, and Jada Pinkett Smith. Tanya has been on hair teams for Fashion Week for three seasons, has owned three salons, and is currently in a private studio in Beverly Hills.
Interviewed by Winn Claybaugh, Neeko and Tanya share a beautiful dynamic as husband and wife, working together and living their lives with passion and hustle. Along with sharing their “rules” for maintaining a healthy balance through their 24/7 time with each other, they discuss the sacred opportunity of being in a service industry and how the customer service experience looks and feels. (You’ll love the “sexy coffee” conversation!)
Although their experience is primarily within the professional beauty industry, their message is 100% applicable to the masses, especially those who are drawn to entrepreneurship and cultivating healthy relationships in the business world. While Neeko is described as the soul and the preacher (“A haircut with Neeko is like going to church!”), Tanya is “the calm, the creative, the connector.”
Along with working heavily in high-profile celebrity circles, their flipside is mentoring young students and professionals as they begin their career and life journeys. Neeko shares his story of being “rescued” as a young teen from a life of gangs and criminal activity, and how the grace of his experience now drives him and Tanya to work within the prison system, offering hope and opportunities to the forgotten.
RELATED LINKS
Website: https://www.lab-lounge.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/neekobackstage_/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tanyaabriol/