In four short years, hairstylist and Drybar founder, Alli Webb, has grown a beauty empire based on one single service: truly fabulous blowouts. When Drybar (1611 N. Sheffield Ave., 312-288-3087) opens in Lincoln Park on Friday, it will become the salon’s 33rd location nationwide.
To prepare for the opening, a team of trainers was brought in to teach the “Drybar way” to the new stylists. “We have a very specific way of doing blowouts,” Webb says. The menu is narrowed down to five styling choices, ranging from the classic, light-bodied “Straight Up” style to the “Mai Tai,” a messy, beachy look (and Webb’s personal favorite). All blowouts are $40.
Though Drybar isn’t the first blowout bar to hit Chicago (Blowtique and Blow by Blow have already set up shop) Webb says her 18 years as a stylist and the overall experience she’s created—from complimentary iPhone charging docs to spacing chairs a precise, comfortable distance apart—keep her clients coming back. And return, they do—often. The average client visits Drybar twice a month, and a growing number of women are booking weekly appointments. “Many women have told us they don’t wash their own hair anymore,” Webb says.
For the do-it-yourself types, Webb has created a line of tools for Sephora [http://www.sephora.com/drybar], including the Buttercup Blow Dryer ($190), the same dryer used in the salon. “A lot of technology went into that blow dryer,” Webb comments. “Our stylists are holding it for eight hours a day, so it needed to be light but powerful.”
Drybar is open seven days a week. Book appointments online, through the Drybar iPhone app, or by calling 312-288-3087.