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Drybar: Get blown away
Get blown away with the arrival of Drybar. DC Scout goes one-on-one with Drybar Founder Alli Webb, plus enter for a chance to win a free blowout!
Get blown away with the arrival of Drybar in Georgetown (1825 Wisconsin Ave NW) and Bethesda (4840 Bethesda Ave). The happy-chic bar-themed salon is dedicated to blowouts and updos—no cuts or color. |
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What inspired you to open a salon dedicated to just blowouts? First and foremost, I have naturally curly hair and I’ve been getting it blown out or blowing it out pretty much my whole life. I have pictures of my mom blowing out my hair when I was 6 years old. I have 2 little kids and was a stay-at-home mom for about 5 years. Before that, I was a stylist for about 15 years. As a busy mom and as a consumer, I really felt like there was something missing in the market. Your options for a blowout are the salon where you’d pay $50-$60 for a blowout or a discount chain where you don’t know what you’re getting the experience is off. I just really felt like we needed a place where you could get a great blowout at a great price in a really fun space. |
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I started dreaming up this idea. I started a mobile business where I was going to women’s homes, like all my mommy friends, and I was blowdrying their hair while their babies were sleeping. That business got so popular that I was like, “Gosh I got to bring this to the next level”. So I went to my brother, who’s my business partner now and said, “I want to open a place. Will you help me?” That’s how the whole Drybar came to be. Once we decided aesthetically we figured out we wanted it to be a bar, it’s like the flood gates were open. From the coasters to the bar menu, it’s just so fun! There are so many great things you can do with the bar-theme. |
| What’s your most popular style on your menu? Gosh, it’s hard to say. It kind of depends on where you are a little bit. Our straight-up which is our basic signature blowout (a little bit of body, little bit of bend) is popular. If you are blowdrying your hair at home, it’s easier to do a straight up because it’s a little bit more basic. The Cosmo (lots of loose curls) and the Mai Tai (what I have now) are really tougher styles to achieve yourself. These are also very popular. |
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| I’ve read that many celebs frequent Drybar and rave about how much they love it. Which celebs were your favorite to style? We’ve been really lucky to have anamazing group of celebrities that come in. Julia Roberts has come in. She’s awesome. I’ve done Cindy Crawford’s hair a couple times. She’s just so beautiful and amazing. Zooey Deschanel has come in as well and Emma Roberts comes in all the time. We have a pretty good list. It’s funny because that was one of the areas of the business where we never really thought about or catered to because celebrities have their rich fancy hairdressers. They didn’t need us. But when I asked them why they come to Drybar, they had the same reason our clients do. They love it. They love the environment. They like the experience. They like the bar. And even though they may have more money than the rest of us, they don’t want to just waste it. I think it’s really about the experience for them too. |
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Do you have any hair styling tips for readers? I think people underestimate how important it is to start with really clean hair. If your hair has any dirt or product residue, it doesn’t blowout well. You really need to start with clean hair. Sometimes our clients will come in and they’ll have washed their hair at home and I’m like “No, no, let us wash it.”
All of our blowouts come with a complimentary shampoo and wash. If you notice, our stylists start in the front in their blowouts because almost everyone has something tricky in their hairline. |
| Whether it’s a widow’s peak or a cowlick, if you can get that while your hair is really wet, you have a much better chance of manipulating it into what you want it to do versus if you start at the nape in the back. By the time you get to the front, it’s drying the way it wants to. What hair products do you recommend? Using the right product for the your hair and your hair type is important. If you have really full thick hair you don’t need to use mousse as much as a styling crème, something that’s going to help calm your hair down a bit. |
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| Also, Dry Shampoo is always a great product to use in between blowouts. It also gives your hair a little bit of a lift in the root. That or some kind of dry oil is great to use too. During your blowout, enjoy sips and snacks while you watch chick flicks on flat screen TVs behind the bar. (I got to watch Clueless!) I don’t add curls to my hair often but was thrilled with my new do! Drybar definitely lives up to all the hype. |
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Drybar Founder Alli Webb (Photo courtesy of Drybar)
Enjoy sips of bubbly and munchies during your blowout.
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