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Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m fairly certain that Do or Dye Hair Salon and Tattoo Parlor of Tampa is the only place where you can dye both your hair and your skin in the same sitting.

You might recognize owners Mike and Leah “Vanity” Moore from their long-time participation in Tampa’s music scene, playing in pop-punk band Golden Vanity (hence Leah’s moniker), and Mike’s electronic Whoa on the Trigger, and solo-acoustic act None Hit Wonder. You might also recognize Mike Moore as the name behind Sole Asylum, the designer, tattoo-inspired accessories company specializing in hand-painted slide shoes and handbags. This is as multitalented a pair as I’ve ever met, with their hands reaching far into a variety of creative fields, but the idea to open Do or Dye grew out of Mike’s desire to combine his and Leah’s two greatest loves—hair, and tattoos.

“Ever since I was in hair school, I knew that I wanted to own my own salon,” Leah says, applying a copper-tinged dye to a customer’s head. “It’s hard work, but I knew what it would entail.”

Leah had Do or Dye’s lease several months before the salon opened. She worked days at her friend’s salon in Land o’ Lakes to pay the bills, and spent evenings and weekends fixing up the Do or Dye building. She and her mother laid the tile themselves while Mike painted and prepared the paperwork. Now that the salon is fully operational, Leah does hair alongside Lexi “Love” Garcia and Chelsea “Cupcake” Styrk, with Johnny (no nickname) Sandler on the tattoo gun. Mike prefers the background, handling the salon’s marketing and promotions, while Leah is busy guarding the storefront.

From the outside, Do or Dye looks like any other hair salon. Indeed, there’s nothing in the name to imply otherwise, and the signage at the moment is merely a hanging banner outside the window. But inside, the walls are lined with framed “body suit” drawings — body-shaped figures decorated in all manner of Eastern- and Western-style tattoos, minimally framed in thin, black-painted metal — leading toward a door in the opposite corner, past the salon chairs and the vanity mirrors, where Johnny Sandler waits, tattoo gun in hand, to mark your virgin skin.

Most of the people who visit Do or Dye are only looking for one service, but many of the people who come for one, stay or come back for the other. The idea behind Do or Dye, says Leah, is not to pressure anyone into dyeing their hair or getting a tattoo (no piercings at the moment), but to provide a safe and comfortable atmosphere where people can ask questions and try new things. Leah adds that it’s rare for a person to get both a hairstyle and a tattoo in the same session, although it does happen. Do or Dye aims to make the tattooing experience — daunting for many — comfortable by furnishing the tat room with a TV and a movie selection, and a comfortable couch whereupon to enjoy the experience rather than fear it. The salon’s workers are also welcome to bring in their own iPod playlists or mix CDs (Leah jokes about the Christmas songs projecting over the speaker system while I’m there: “We aren’t usually playing Christmas music, I swear!”)

Do or Dye’s philosophy centers on the idea that people’s reasons for getting tattooed have changed since the days when body modification was the sole practice of sailors and heathens. These days, the couple believes, people get tatted for all kinds of reasons, and they need their tattoos to be creative and personal. Gone are the days of flash art and Sailor Jerry, they say, and since people these days tend to tailor-make their tats, they need more than ever to be guided through the process.

The Moores chose their location on the southwest corner of Sheldon and Waters (in an up-and-coming area near Town ‘n’ Country) because of its flexibility. Recognizing that Do or Dye walks a fine line between “typical salon” and “motorcycle guys,” they wanted to find an area that accommodated both. That being said, they accept that people are either going to hate what they do or love it, simply because it’s different.

“But we embrace what’s different,” Leah says. “Because we are different.”

Do or Dye offers a discount referral program and frequent color specials. To find out about current specials or to schedule an appointment, call the shop at 813-884-9100.