Heads up, ladies, there’s about to be a showdown. Both sides are packing heat, but not in the form of guns. Instead, they’re armed with the fastest, most powerful hairdryers on the market. What’s at stake? The bragging rights over who gives the city’s best blow-out.
At one end of the street (342 West 14th Street to be exact) is Blow, the hugely successful blow-dry bar that opened six years ago in the meatpacking district. Editors at Vogue, Elle, Allure and InStyle have sung its praises and business has been so good that Blow now offers its own product line as well as the Blow Dry Bar Academy, where stylists from other salons can sign up to learn Blow’s signature technique.
“We pride ourselves in being pioneers in the blow-dry category,” says Blow co-founder Stuart Sklar. “We are the only company dedicated to the art of the perfect blow-out.”
Not so fast. Opening just a few blocks away in the Flatiron (at 4 West 16th Street) on September 16 is Drybar, another wildly popular blow-dry bar that launched in L.A. in 2010. Since then, nine other locations have opened on the west coast—and now the company is breaking into the Big Apple. Besides the Flatiron location, Drybar will also open an uptown location in Le Parker Meridien hotel in early November.
“I know women in New York love their blow-outs as much as women in L.A. do,” says Drybar owner Alli Webb. “I was getting so many requests from my bi-coastal clients, it was a no-brainer.”
So how does Drybar plan to contend with the already-established Blow? Well, Webb says gingerly, it’s not exactly a competition. “Blow isn’t really a blow-dry bar,” she explains, noting that Blow also offers cuts, color, manicures, waxing and make-up application. “It’s a full-service salon. Here at Drybar, we’re just about the blow-out. We’re never going to cut your hair or do your nails or your color. Our goal is simply to have you out the door with a fantastic blow-out in 30-45 minutes.”
In fact, Drybar’s entire menu is made up of just six blow-out choices, ranging from the sleek, smooth “Manhattan” to the bouncy, wavy “Cosmopolitan.” The flat rate for everybody? A super-affordable 40 bucks. “We won’t charge you more if your hair is down to your ass or if it’s really curly or if you want us to use a flat-iron,” says Webb. “There’s no bait and switch here. Everything is just $40.”
Sklar bristles at the idea of a blow-out menu. At Blow, he says, “every blow-out is customized. We talk to the client. We show her pictures. We work with her to achieve the exact look she wants. We don’t believe in cookie-cutter.” But those one-of-a-kind blow-outs can be more costly. Prices at Blow start at $40, but may increase to $50, $60 or more depending on the length and texture of the client’s hair.
Despite the frenzy over the opening of Drybar, Blow’s Sklar says he isn’t worried. “I’m not threatened,” he explains. “I take pride in the fact that we created this category. Listen, 80 percent of women blow-dry their hair. It’s a big sandbox. There’s room for everyone.”
Photo courtesy of Drybar
