Rising Stars: Meet Taryn Quinterri

Today we’d like to introduce you to Taryn Quinterri.

Hi Taryn, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I was in college for Architecture in 2007, which my high school guidance counselor placed me in because of my brain; I was great at math and art, explicitly scoring high on tests involving shapes/patterns/measurements. But because of my personality, I was miserable! I am a people person. I love to be around people. Architecture is a somewhat lonely career! One drunken night in San Diego in 2009, I regrettably got a terrible tattoo. This tattoo, however, led me to my job! My mom later purchased a package of laser tattoo removal sessions for my birthday. By the fourth session, it was working, and I felt it was my calling. I thought, “I will meet so many people doing this and hear the funny stories of their tattoos that they now regret!” I dropped out of college in 2009 and put myself through school for skincare and electrolysis, which were prerequisites to being a laser technician. While in school for aesthetics, I was introduced to cosmetic tattooing, and I fell in love. Laser ended up boring me because the sessions were short and tortured people, not getting to know them like I thought it would be. The rest was history! After working for others for a few years, I opened my own company in 2013. I traveled the world to learn from the best artists around the globe. I began training others in 2017.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Not. For the first 10 years of my now 12-year career, I was still bartending 3-4 nights a week to support my business. 2020 threw me for a loop. I blew through my savings and came close to losing everything. I survived and thrived in 2021 business-wise, but I also took a risk and made a poor investment that has since tanked me. In 2022, the economy slowed down. In 2023, I got very ill for a long time. I am struggling today, catching up from a rough couple of years, but with great faith. I trust the process. Business is a rollercoaster, and Rome wasn’t built in a day!

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I restore people’s confidence through paramedical and cosmetic tattoo work. Whether it’s tattooing someone’s eyebrows so they don’t have to spend time every day penciling them in, tattooing a 3D nipple/areola on a cancer survivor who lost them in a mastectomy, or tattooing hair follicle replications on someone who is balding/thinning to increase density, I make people feel good about themselves again. I camouflage scars by tattooing them with a pigment that matches their skin; I have tattooed a belly button on someone who lost their belly button in a tummy tuck surgery. I love what I do. I’m so blessed to have stumbled on this career. I believe I was meant for it. It is my destiny. It gives my life purpose. I am so proud of what I do. What sets me apart from others is that I didn’t just do the bare minimum to get going in my industry. So many people take a 3-day class and never take another because it’s optional. The tattoo industry is unregulated in the United States, which is scary! I have spent well over a college and law school tuition on my skin and tattoo education. I follow laws that exist in other places since there are none here. I practice safe medical protocols because I work with blood every single day. I’m not your average tattoo artist. I’m also an aesthetician of 12 years, so I know skin inside and out. I am also an educator because I have perfected my craft.

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
Save money and invest wisely. You never know when a pandemic will hit! And always have a backup of your website and photos on your website. The hosting company I use recently lost all my photos! I’m currently working on fixing it, but it’s a mess.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.cosmetic-aesthetics.com
• Instagram: @cosmetic_aesthetics and @t4rynitup
• Facebook: facebook.com/CosmeticAesthetics
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@cosmeticaesthetics
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/cosmetic-aesthetics-phoenix-3?utm_campaign=www_business_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)
• Other: https://g.co/kgs/Gaw1jYf