By Christine Georghiou, News Correspondent
Buttercup, a gigantic upside-down hair dryer on wheels, has been making her rounds of Boston’s college campuses. She’s advertising the expansion of Drybar, the hip Los Angeles-based hair styling chain, into Boston.
Founder Alli Webb and the Drybar team celebrated the grand opening of their 31st location this Friday with upbeat music, champagne and an assortment of bite-sized desserts. Just hours after the Drybar doors at 234 Clarendon St. opened for the first time, the store was packed and walk-ins were told that there were no appointments available until the next evening.
“No cuts. No color. Just blowouts for only $40,” proclaims the storefront of Back Bay’s newest affordable luxury. Drybar aims to offer a salon quality blowout experience to clients without charging salon prices. Clients can book their 40 minute blowout appointments online or via the Drybar smartphone app. The salon is neat and modern, decorated in neutral whites and greys and accented with buttercup yellow hair-dryer chandeliers.
The Drybar experience begins as soon as a client walks in the door. He or she is greeted by staff and introduced to a stylist, who explains the different style options. Clients choose from one of the six blowout styles on the menu, which range from Southern Comfort, “big hair with volume,” to Hot Toddy, “short and sweet.” Or, they can opt for an up-do.
The stylist then takes the client downstairs, where they enjoy a relaxing shampoo and head massage while sitting in plush, oversized arm chairs. Afterwards, they head back upstairs to the styling bar where they can watch a romantic comedy, sip on a refreshing mimosa and nibble on a cupcake (an assortment of snacks can be purchased for $5) while having their hair styled. When the treatment is complete, the stylist spins the client around to face the mirror for the big reveal.
Drybar’s line of all-natural hair products has also become very popular with clients, according to the staff. Clients can use Drybar brand dry shampoo, made of rice paper, and Drybar shine pomade to maintain their blowouts for a few days after they leave the salon. They can also purchase all of the hair styling tools used by Drybar’s stylists, including their very own miniature Buttercup, advertised as “the ultimate blow drying tool,” to take the full experience home with them.
Drybar owner, founder and full time mom, Webb, started a service called Straight-at-Home in 2008, which provided in-home blowouts for clients in LA for more affordable prices than they would pay in a salon. When Webb realized that her clients didn’t have anywhere else to go to get their hair blown out affordably, the idea for Drybar was born.
“In a salon, a blowout can cost up to $80. Ladies shouldn’t have to pay that much,” she said.
She has made the blowout a weekly ritual for her clients rather than an expensive indulgence. Drybar public relations representative Selmin Arat agreed.
“I love coming into Drybar in the morning and getting my hair blown out before going in to work,” she said of her morning routine at the Drybar location a few blocks away from home.
Within five years of the opening of Drybar’s first location in Brentwood, Calif., the store has expanded to include 31 locations, and it continues to grow.
When asked how Drybar’s takeover of the styling industry began, Webb replied, “We had to. So many people were asking for more stores and suggesting additional locations.”
The chain is so popular that its website includes the option to “request a location,” a tool that helps the Drybar team decide where to open their next store.
Webb decided to expand into Boston at the request of many of their New York clients who had moved to the Hub and inspired their favorite hair styling experience to move with them. Drybar’s second Boston location on Boylston Street in Chestnut Hill will be opening next month.
The Drybar team is currently looking forward to the salon’s upcoming expansion into Chicago. They plan on eventually bringing their original hair styling experience to Europe, beginning with London, where Webb said she has always wanted to travel.
Buttercup and her team will be making their rounds about Boston this week, posing for pictures and giving out cards that could reveal an offer for a free blowout – just blow dry to see if you’ve won. Webb and the Drybar team are currently working on coming up with promotions for students, given the overwhelmingly positive response they said they received during their visits to college campuses throughout the week.
