Corny joke alert. Why was Pavlov's hair so soft?
Because he conditioned it.
(Author unknown)
Conditioned, soft, and beautiful will your hair be after a visit to Drybar!
TL;DR
1. They have booze and snacks :)
2. Option to watch chick flicks during the appointment :)
3. Clean, beautiful space :)
4. Friendly employees (thank you Ashley and Sabrina!) :)
5. Beautiful results on my long, thick Asian hair. I've never felt more mermaid-like :)
6. Heavily fragranced hair products :(
7. Recommendation: Certify their products for public health/sustainability, promote a social cause
(Disclaimer: I was invited here through a Yelp Elite event. Thank you Yelp!)
Full review below:
Drybar is anything but dry. Upon arrival, I was offered a beverage by Sabrina at the front and could choose from water, tea, coffee, mimosa, and wine. Being offered alcohol at a salon during an appointment was a first for me. There were also these delicious lemon cookies sitting at the counter guests could much on with their drink. I was so hungry since I didn't have time to eat breakfast earlier that morning and rushed to my appointment at noon. I inhaled those deletectable lemon goodies. Booze and snacks. I may have had my pinky bent slightly out on my glass of mimosa. The appointment was getting off to a fancy start.
I was eventually led to a seat towards the back left corner of the salon and asked by my stylist Ashley to choose from a menu of looks. They all had cocktail-themed names like The Manhattan, Mai Tai, Straight Up, Shirley Temple (for kids!), Dirty Martini, Southern Comfort, etc. I chose a combination of the Cosmo-Tai and Southern Comfort: beachy with loose curls.
My particular seat was in front of a large screen TV playing Miss Congeniality. Classic. Ashley explained to me they have a rotation of chick flicks playing throughout the day like How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and Bridesmaid. During the holidays, they play Hallmark/Christmas-themed movies. There are also subtitles so you can still understand everything with a loud blowdryer next to your head.
Once I selected my style, Ashley took me to the back for a relaxing head massage and shampoo. We made small talk and I watched the movie while she worked on drying my hair and curling it with an assortment of tools.
The salon space was really nice - clean, modern, with lots of natural lighting. The chairs were 'bar-seating,' where customers sat in front of one long rectangular table that encircled a pillar of TVs/shelves. It was hard to see my reflection in the mirror in front of me since it was mostly covered by the TV and shelves holding hair products/decor items. But I think the point was to be surprised by the results at the end of the appointment when they whip you around in your chair to face a mirror for the 'big reveal.' There is a large mirror behind every seat at the salon to facilitate this effect.
Ashley did an amazing job with my hair. My hair is incredibly thick and heavy, making it difficult to style and hold a curl. I usually don't even bother because of the tremendous effort it takes to shape it. Ashley meticulously styled and curled every strand of hair, resulting in a beautiful cascade of hair that would turn a mermaid green with envy. She also explained all the Drybar products (which also have cocktail-themed names) she used in my hair as she went along.
I docked a star because of the heavy fragrance that wafted off my hair the rest of the day from the Drybar products. I am sensitive to strong scents/perfumes and get a huge headache if I don't remove myself from the source immediately. An ibuprofen helped to take care of that later though that afternoon. Ashley did ask if I was okay with product in my hair at the beginning of the appointment. I will opt out on my next visit. Nonetheless, most of my curls held for the remainder of the day.
If I could make any suggestions to improve, my recommendation to Drybar is to consider formulating hair products that are fragrance-free and have some certification proving its safety to public health and dedication to the environment or social cause. For instance, irritation-free formula, low VOCs released from sprays, packaging is recyclable, portion of proceeds donated to fighting domestic violence, etc.
Drybar would be a great place to host events like showers, birthdays, galentine's day, etc. I would definitely come back here to get my hair styled for a special event or for a rainy day! Thank you Yelp for the special chance to try out Drybar! read more