Tania Whittier is a Midwest girl at heart. She grew up in Wisconsin and after high school graduation went straight to beauty school, as she always knew she wanted to do hair. She worked as an assistant and then eventually went on the floor at a high end salon in Brookfield, WI. After awhile Tania decided she wanted more adventure, so she moved to Chicago to focus on hair color.
When she got to Chicago, Japanese Hair Straighteners became very popular so she added that to her resume. It seemed like everyone liked booking with her for smoothing out their hair texture. After about 4 years in Chicago, Tania decided it was time to make another adventurous change. She had made herself a promise when she moved the first time. It was to always listen to that voice inside of her, and to keep making moves when the time felt right.
This time she moved to Los Angeles and worked at a few spaces before landing at Méche Salon in Beverly Hills. Tania stayed focused on color and texture, as the texture trend had moved into Brazilian/Keratin treatments. Then, about 7 years ago everything changed again.
This time wasn’t a shift in location, but more of a change of thought and practice. Tania had a client inquire about a non toxic smoothing treatment (only available to licensed professionals) that she had read about in a magazine. Tania immediately looked into it, tried it on her client, and essentially, never looked back. Since then, and to no surprise- she has become THE go-to celebrity stylist for clean and non toxic smoothing treatments and color services. Just ask Kristen Bell, Laura Leighton, Maya Rudolph, Leslie Mann, Milla Jovovich, or anyone else on her repeat client list.
Tania credits her clients for catapulting her into her own non toxic journey. It all started with just one client telling her about the magazine article. Then seemingly more and more clients started talking to her about being immunocompromised and the reactions they’d have to conventional hair color and straightening treatments.
Word spread fast in Tinseltown and countless clients specifically came to Tania, asking for her non toxic smoothing treatments. That’s when she knew it was the obvious next step, to simply make clean and non toxic services regularly available at a high end salon like Méche. Once Tania started doing the research into alternative treatments, she couldn’t believe it took her so long to make the switch.
Tania believes it isn’t just the non toxic products she uses that separate her from other salons, but it’s how she uses them that does. She’s spent an incredible amount of time educating herself on how to make treatments highly customizable for her clients. She understands that not everyone wants the same style of straighter, smoother, hair. One size does not fit all. So, the products and techniques she uses vary depend what each individual client is looking for. The products are always cruelty free and some are even vegan. She’s also currently working on implementing a recycling program within her salon for any product waste that can be recycled.
Tania knows that learning anything new is always filled with challenges. However she also says “if you believe in what you are doing and you’re willing to go into it with an open mind to learn, then it will pay off.” She recalls the time when her current color line O&M didn’t do what her previous traditional color line did- but she just kept going and eventually figured it out. Another challenge was learning what the non toxic smoothing treatments were really capable of and how to customize and dial in just the right results for her clients wishes.
Today, Tania is most proud that she’s never stopped loving what she does and that she is constantly finding inspiration in her work. Right now, learning about the various chemicals in beauty products has been very motivating to her.
Tania’s ultimate goal is to spread the word about non toxic and clean beauty to clients and other hair stylists. She wants to teach other hair stylists that there are safer, smarter options when it comes to the products in their industry. And that they are just as effective as the traditional, conventional hair products of the past. Tania herself, has gotten the message loud and clear – clients are beyond ready for cleaner options RIGHT NOW. She knows if she can get other stylists to make the non-toxic leap, they’ll be happy they made the change, not only for their clients, but for their own health as well.
I had such a great time getting to know Tania and her assistant, and experiencing her non-toxic color service. In an effort to keep it healthy and avoid any damage, I hadn’t dyed my hair in over two years. This resulted in grown out roots and orangish, sun bleached ends. I wanted an all over color that would match my roots so I could keep my look super low maintenance. She began with painted low-lights through out with an all over color and then a final color glaze. To my utter shock and surprise, Tania was able to give me a very natural, ashy, light brunette color that I had previously believed was impossible to achieve. She is truly a color genius. I’m absolutely in love with my new look, right in time for all the holidays.
Check out the bio about Tania Whittier at MecheSalonLA.com
and book your next salon visit with Tania Whittier at TaniaWhittier.com
and be sure to follow her on instagram @TaniaWhittier
If you like non-toxic haircare you’ll love LoveSong Haircare too!
Until next time…
Erin
xoxo
Beautiful.
Thank you for checking out this article Jeffrey- very much appreciated!