Interview with Reg Laws - Founder of PR at Partners

This was by far the most valuable interview I have conducted.  

I first started asking about his operations.  PR is branded as a high end hair salon.  They are in the process of trying to expand their business without loosing their prime feel. Their busiest hours are from 5pm until 9pm Thursdays - Saturdays.  During their slower hours they focus on the educational piece of their salon.  Training new graduates from beauty school in the PR way.

Reg made some very good points about opening up Glam Dash.  He said "it's all about branding."  What would we bring to the table?  What is unique about glam dash.

Reg stated that the idea is bad if we plan to bring it to high rent locations and that we should focus on trading our services for rent.  And he gave an example of partnering with a fitness center chain, such as LA Fitness.  LA Fitness is geared towards women, does not have a spa, and is looking for additional foot traffic, which Glam Dash would bring.  He explained the concept of trading 3% of our gross revenues for the space in their gyms.  He specifically said the LA Fitness on 19th and K in DC would probably be best for our business.  I inquired his thoughts on business centers, and he says the demographic is wrong; too many men.  We would have to research places.

He continued with wanting to know how we are unique.  I explained our efficiency concept and he followed up stating we need something more unique or a way to brand it red carpet style.

We came up with... We deliver Red Carpet style to a busy woman's schedule... or something like that.

Reg Laws

Mom of 3 - Telephone interview

Brandi
Stay at home mother of 3


Brandi is a mother of three who has disposable income.  Before becoming a mother of 3 she worked in the fashion industry and continues to stay on top of the newest trends.  She currently gets her nails done once or twice a month.  She does not get her makeup done unless its a wedding or other special event.  She also does not get her hair blown out.  But if there was a place nearby with parking she would definitely try a package deal and for sure do her nails.

Once I told her the Glam Dash concept she immediately said "You know what I would go to regularly during the summer; a braid bar."  She says, "who in their right mind want to get their hair blown out during the summer, when instead they can get a cute/sexy look that is cool and not on their shoulders?"  She said she would go once or twice to our salon during the winter but if we offered braids, she would go once or twice a summer.

GREAT INSIGHT, because braids are very trendy right now and none of us even thought of this.  The best part, is when you take out your braid, you have a whole new look to play with.  This concept could be expanded!  Here are some fun braids...

Some updates...

Some updated on our business design, ideal customer, cost structure and key partners: 

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Tonight I managed to talk to four women about our concept and got much more into the weeds than previous interviews - about what they think works and doesn't work and what things to consider.

DeEtta

DeEtta is a Navy officer and has two kids, one in college and one in high school.  The Navy is what brought DeEtta to the DC area.  She does her own hair, gets her nails done occasionally, and uses only minimal makeup, such as some eyeliner. 
She goes to two places that blow out hair.  One is called Dominican Blow Out and the other is called Brazilian Blow Out.  She thinks that’s what they’re called.  After explaining the concept, she was curious as to what makes our concept different from all the other salons out there where you can get the same stuff done.  She it would take her a lot to switch from using the people she knows and thought the same about most of her friends.  What makes us different?  I explained the efficiency concept and she thought that if we could do it, it would definitely be something of value – the ability to get it and out in a reasonable time and not spend a long time there.

Regarding the cost and the 33/33/33 concept, she didn’t think that’s really much different from prices she is able to get for hair and nails.  I reminded her about efficiency.  She told me if we could really do it for sure, that would definitely be of value.  She asked what we’ve done so far to figure this out – would we have enough space, would we have the people to be able to do it, especially during the busy times and be able to give enough attention to each person to make it happen.  She thought we’d have to try these things about and see what works.  We’d have to train our staff to our efficiency focus and make sure we can pull it off.  DeEtta pointed out that nails would have to be what we start with as that could take the most time.  Overall we need to work out the process and make sure we gear it right for feasibility. 

Shelia

Shelia grew up in New York.  She attended University of Pennsylvania and studied Biology.  She also went to graduate school and studied biology.  She then moved to DC and has been her since.  Shelia gets a salon haircut once every four to six months. A cut and style costs her $60 to $80.   She gets her nails done every other week.  She consistently goes to one person who is good.  She usually does polish or shellac, and does a rainbow of colors – it depends on the season what color she does.  Her nails cost $10 normally.  She does make up for events like weddings.

Pete explains the concept of 33/33/33.  Sheila thinks for going out for an event, like going out to a fancy restaurant such that you get dressed up for and have an up-do.  She then said, “I’d love to look like a princess for the night!”  She is concerned with the time it takes to do nails – a full set of nails is a 60 minute event and a fill is 45 minutes.  You wouldn’t want to wait too long.  She doesn’t use a lot of product and does not get it at the hair salon.  For product she goes to CVS, Target or wherever she happens to be at the moment.

She likes the name “Glam Dash”
 

Leslie

Leslie is from Blissfield, Michigan.  She went to University of Michigan and studied psychology and music technology.  She lived in NY from 2001 to 2006 for excitement and change.  She came back with her husband for the family and the expanding responsibilities. 

She gets her hair done once every three months and gets it cut and colored at the Aveda Institute for $55.  It is usually a different person who does her hair each time.  She says the quality is usually consistent as Aveda has a strict training academy and has recommended it to friends.  For nails, in the summer she gets a pedicure once a month.  She gets her fingernails done four times a year.  She gets a polish, a pedicure massage, and gets her nails reshaped, cutting and polish.  Her favorite color is orange.  She also gets blue.  For makeup she does lipstick, eyeliner, and mascara. 

She thinks the name GlamDash makes her think of chessy.  On the other hand, Bar 33 makes her think of time and cost.  (I had already explained the 33/33/33 concept regarding cost and time.  She thinks our concept is really great. 

For her last pedicure she got a shellac which you dry under UV light – you don’t have to wait a long time to dry, and it lasts a long time.  She went to a salon where the concept is efficient – they get you in and out with nails and you don’t have to wait.  It is also cheaper as you don’t use as much of the professional’s time.  For products – At Aveda she gets a Hair Mousse styling product.  Otherwise she gets her hair products at the store.  She goes with her sister-in-law or someone (friend or family) about every other month. It is important to be able to be with a friend for an opinion on a hair style, a nail color, etc. – someone who knows you, what you like and what works for you. 

One concern with these places is the sanitary level.  She makes we should make a point of how sanitary it is.  We avoid the fungus horror stories and the pinkeye sharing tools stories.  Keep your tool clean.  You want to say you’re on the cutting edge of sanitary tools and methods.

Wifi is a must – also you should have charging stations.  She has been to one with all the plugs and cables. 

If she was to get all three services done it would be for an event. 

Maureen (and advisor/motivational speaker Pele the dog)

 

She gets her hair done once every six weeks.  The criteria is not just money but that the people at the salon listen and care – this is very important.  She goes to Soleil Salon on Picket street in Alexandria.  It is locally owned.  They have good prices, are locally owned, and she has talked with them.  One time when they were backed up and she was waiting they gave her a free manicure.  When she walks in she immediately gets asked, “Can I get you something?”  She gets her nails done not so often.  Says her skin is not great, in winter her skin splits and bleeds and she has to wait until it gets better.  She wants to get her toes done, waiting for calluses to heel and from her recent foot surgery.  The salon can take these off.  When she gets her nails done she gets them filed and does not keep them long, but instead sports length.  For colors she choses neutral colors like roses.  She hasn’t yet done Gel but may do it next time.  She gets the cuticle pushed back.  It says it is important for health and for cosmetic reasons.  She has hesitated on gels because it takes a long time to take off and doesn’t like the aluminum foil and adhesive used to take it off.  For makeup she uses a lipstick, with a gloss mainly.  She uses a stick – Cover Girl or Revlon.  It looks like a crayon stick.  She use a facial powder to be shiny, a connector.  She occasionally goes with a friend.

After she is told about the concept she says for products were should consider sample sizes!  Make it an option.  Sample sizes are so they can walk away with it to use for the rest of the night.

She buys her products at the store – not at the salon as they’re so expensive there.  We have to make sure we find the right products to meet our customers’ needs, and have high end products for those special occasions.   She is sometimes drawn by a scent to a store.  She is not bothered by nails scents.  She doesn’t like hair perm smells. 

She says the placement of stations in our place is very important – make sure they are not bumping into each other.  If it is too tight (she’s seen it) then it doesn’t work.  Also, you don’t want everyone converging on supplies at the same time.  Shampoo, hair wash, and the number of bowls available is important.  She thinks a mobile nail station would be awesome!  She pointed out that Soleil Salon also caters to men, who have caluses on their feet taken off and get their nails buffed. 

Pentagon City on a Tuesday night

Pete and I decided to tackle the food court in Pentagon City between the after-dinner and before-closing period.

Lauren (aka Pete's awesome wife!)

Lauren is from Huntington Beach.  She was born in Phoenix, Arizona but grew up in Huntington Beach.  She went to George Washington for undergrad and grad school.  She’s been in DC for 14 year.  Currently she is in the musical Damn Yankees.  She is a budget analyst.  She likes to hang out with her husband and likes to shop.  She really likes to shop and really likes shoes.  She doesn’t know how many pairs of shoes she has. 

Lauren gets her hair cut every six to eight weeks.  She gets her nails done every two weeks and uses gel and acrylic for nails.  She usually uses gel on her finger nails and regular nail polish on her toe nails.  Her previous experiences were really bad.  With the gel, they use LED lights for easy drying.  Now she always goes to the same person.  In California they use a footbath for pedicures which is easier to lean than a pedicure chairs (which also have massages).  The pedicure chair is more painful.  The chair’s traps/filters don’t get cleaned enough and can grow bacteria. 

Lauren colors her hair, no blowouts.  For weddings her stylists does her hair.  At her own wedding a couple hairstylists came to them at the Gaylord hotel.  Normally she has her hair in a ponytail.  Her hair is usually frizzy.  She does not use product on her hair.  She may use hairspray for going out and wants it fancier.  How often does she change her hair – when she gets bored.  She now also wants to make sure her husband likes it.  She uses a brush and a curling iron.  She normally goes by herself for hair and nails.  What’s a reasonable price? $25 from the manicurist she likes.  $35 just for a fill, which is $45 to $60 at other places.  A regular manicure is $20 – take the cuticles out, it takes time, and should not hurt. 

She likes the 33/33/33 idea.  She does see herself using this.  For prom it costs $80 to $90 for hair only.  Manicure expectations – quick and using gel nail polish would be the way to go.  Gel smells less than other nail polish.  For the remover there are foil pads, with cotton squares that you put the remover on, you wrap the foil pads around the fingers, it generates heat and keeps it more contained.  Lauren likes the concept as it makes it more affordable to go out.  She’s always had a dream of getting things done at once (hair/makeup/nails).  It reminded her of a scene from the move Troop Beverly Hills – getting multiple things done at once.  When asked where should it be located she likes the town center concept, perhaps Tysons or Georgetown.  She really likes “Bar 33.”  What if prices go up?  You could still have something at $33.  

Stephanie and Katrina

Stephanie is from Massachusetts and Katrina is from Maryland.  They are both going to George Washington University and in the fall will be in there senior year.  They are both in exercise science.  Stephanie just came back from Florence Italy.  A normal day involves coffee, sorority activities and babysitting.  On a normal day for Katrina she coaches gymnastics, goes to school and is working on getting an internship.  Katrina’s family has a beach house in Ocean City.  They’ve been going down to the beach house this summer. 

Stephanie gets her hair cut four to five months.  She has not heard of drybar.  She gets a pedicure a couple times a year.  She doesn’t get her nails done much because they trip.  Katrina gets her hair cut twice a year.  She does know about drybar.  She gets her nails done sporadically.  She gets them done for sorority recruitment.  She also does it when her mom pays.  Katrina heard about nail gel and wants to use it.  Stephanie has done gel nails before.

Lexi explains “Bar 33”  Both ladies with energy and positive tone says, “That sounds nice!”  Would be great for events.  Bar 33 – that’s the place that’s on $33.  We’d go there if it exists.  Katrina would go more frequently for events.  Stephanie would go much more if she wasn’t a broke college student.  What haven’t we thought of?  You could have a waxing service.  Makeup is great.  Stephanie says if you advertise is take 1 ½ to 2 hours, get in and get out then that’d be great.  Two hours sounds reasonable.  Where do you guys envision this?  Downtown – Georgetown and Dupont.  If you put it near a college you will succeed.  Being near Greek Letters will help.  Getting a lot of college students will help.

Stephanie loves the idea of convenient and efficient.

Lisa and her mother

They are from Germany.  Lisa is in the country for one year as a nanny.  Her mom, Antia, lives in Germany and is visiting.  Antia spoke a fair amount but spoke very little English, so Lisa did some back and forth translating.  As a nanny Lisa gets up around 7 am to take care of breakfast for kids, does laundry and lunches.  She has kids until 9 pm and so works 14 hours.  She gets one weekend off a month and 1 ½ days a week off.  She is in college too and is studying English and German.  She wants to be a teacher in Germany. 

She gets her haircut every six months and nails done every few weeks.  She always goes to the same person.  She gets her nails done in Germany, but not here.  She uses a professional lady who visits her privately to do her nails. 

Now we take some time to explain our idea a fair amount about a class.  At this point Antia speaks up and Lisa listens for a while before translating into English for us.  The translation – You can only be a good boss when you can lead people.  Lexi explains the drybar concept, the 33/33/33, two hours to get done and the Beauty Bar of Bar 33 name choices.  Antia doesn’t like the idea.  She’s working for herself and says you have to focus on one thing and be really good at it and not focus on five things and be ok at it.  Germany is about efficiency.  Lisa was interested at first, but then back off when the mom said she didn’t like it.  

Incredible informative makeup artist named Elysa at Sephora

Elyssa is from DC and grew up here.  She’s been working at Sephora since last September.  She gets her haircut every six months.  She changes her hair styles over time and gets inspiration from what’s going on.  Right now is long, vintage wave and she’s got that going with her hair right now.  She does her own nails.  She also does nails freelancing.  She has clients that come in to get makeup on every week. 

Lexie explains our concept.  Elyssa loves the idea.  She is familiar with drybar.  She told us women love being pampered.  Women come in for relaxation.  She likes the 33/33/33 concept and likes that makeup is a part of it.  We asked does she like “Beauty Bar” or “Bar 33” and she really likes Bar 33.  She believes it will resonate really well with people – a place for them to go after work. 

She also told us to check out a fashion blog site called Refinery 29 and it has a DC section to find out what’s going on.

Focusing on Customer Relationships

My focus today was how do we get and keep our customers.  I interviewed 4 random girls and had one sit down interview.

First I sat down with Courtney, a management officer.  She is 28 years old and makes approximately 65k to 70k a year.  Currently, she lives in Tysons Corner.  Her typical beauty routine includes getting her hair cut every 12 weeks and a manicure & pedicure every 2 months.  She spends $40 on her hair and $40 on her mani/pedi combo.  She has never been to a blowout bar or drybar.  She says drybar is not worth it because of her workout routine.  Her hair will not last as long if she works out.  Being fit is more important to her.  Although she is considering trying it because she has a $10 coupon to use.  Courtney has never had her makeup done professionally and she believes it to be too expensive.  She once paid $45-50 to have her makeup done for a wedding once.

Once explaining the Beauty Bar concept to Courtney, she said that it is something she would go to on occasion.  Maybe she would go for birthdays or dinner parties with girlfriends.  She confirmed that she would not pay $40 to have her hair blown out and no more than $65 for two services (hair & nails).  When I pitched the $33/33/33 concept to her, she said she wouldnt pay $99 for all three services but if there was a pick-two option, she would definitely choose the nails/hair and would pay $66 for it (considering it is under the $80 she is paying for separate located services.

I asked her how often she would frequent the store; she said she would have to try it once and then decide.  First experience at beauty Bar 33 is important.

With regard to location, her first thought was Georgetown (remember that she lives in Tysons).  She further explained that she would want the location near a place that she could go out afterwards.  Whether going out includes night clubs/bars or simply shopping and/or dinner.  She also said a shopping mall may be ideal.  I asked her about business centers (office buildings clustered together) and she said she would definitely go and get her hair/nails done at work if she could have it done in less than one hour.

Lastly, we discussed additional services and she confirmed she would not pay extra for a scalp massage; however she would pay extra for an oil treatment considering she has very curly hair.

The other 4 girls, ages 24, 26, 26, and 27, I interviewed were at the Nationals Game tonight.  I interviewed two while in line for the bathroom and I was sitting next to the other two.  I asked them each about the ideal location for Bar 33.  I received another vote for Georgetown, a DuPont Circle, and and 2 Arlington votes.  One of the girls furthered about the location in Arlington, and mentioned Clarendon where the Apple store is location.  All 4 girls loves the $33/33/33 concept; however 3 of the 4 girls stated they would only purchase a "pick two" package and the odd one out states she would purchase only one of the services at a time.

I decided to ask the girls what type of things would keep them coming back for business.  And here are the multitude of responses I received...
- Efficiency
- Quality
- Customer service
- Coupons and subscriptions

From the interviews I think I have come up with some customer personas:

Busy Queen Bee
- Business/career driven woman, 25 y/o - 40 y/o, who works 40+ hours a week but always squeezes time in for her beauty routines.  Perhaps in the morning before work, during her lunch break, or after her daily workout.

The Diva
- Socialite mid-20 to mid-30 y/o woman that is too busy in her social life, that her salon time because "her" time and Bar 33's timing is perfect for her busy schedule.  She typically schedules after work, and on weekend afternoons because she is a late owl (not a morning person).

Occasional Sussie
- Loves Bar 33 but doesn't care to spend the exposable income on a routine.  However, this customer will use Bar 33 for special occasions and for an occasional quick pamper session.

JR Jane
- High school early college with parental exposable income who values beauty and the concepts behind the current trends.

The Par-tay
Bachelorette parties, birthday parties, wedding parties, mother & daughter duos.

Style Bar Beverly Hills - Quick and Dirty Interview and Internet Search

I was able to finally get through to Style Bar in Beverly Hills, CA, after several failed attempts. I pretended to be a potential customer who was planning on having all three services (hair, makeup, nails) for myself and three friends for my birthday. The woman on the phone sounded rushed so I had to be quick with my questions.

In the short time that I had, I was able to gather that the hair blowout and makeup application would take between 1 1/2 to 2 hours. She could not estimate a time for all three services because the nail lady was out. A quick, basic manicure would likely take about another half hour. When I asked if all four of the ladies in my "party" could have the services done at the same time, she said that she could fit us in "if" we booked on a weekday in the early afternoon.

The remaining information has been taken from the website. It's important to note that Yelp reviews of this place are terrible.

Style Bar Beverly Hills

The founders, who are sisters, created the concept because they felt they needed a quicker, more efficient way to get ready for weekend events. The Style Bar concept is a "beauty express bar" with all three services performed at once. The website claims that all three services can be performed within an hour but my phone call contradicted that.

Is this really a picture of a luxurious experience? Probably not....

Style Bar charges $33 for a blowout and an additional $10 if any heat tools are used in the service. They offer a significantly more extensive list of options and price points from $7 for a polish change to $500 for bridal hair and makeup. There are a few videos on the site that display the experience. It seems like a typical day would be too manic and it would not be an "in and out" type of service.

$123 for a haircut??!! $63 for "color"??? I don't know about this.

Beauty Bar - A Beautiful Progression

We began as a social experience for women who wanted to get ready together for big events or a night out on the town. We have developed into an efficient service work busy professional women who prioritize beauty. Our new concept is "bar"-style salon services, including blowouts, manicures and pedicures and makeup applications.

Stage 1:

Then we pivoted...

And we pivoted again...

This is how we want to feel after Saturday's presentation (thank you, Baked & Wired, for inspiration)

Saturday's Remaining Interviews

On Saturday, Jen and I continued our interviews at Baked & Wired and took advantage of some of the sunshine (before it got too hot to handle).

Our second (4th?) interview that morning was with a good a friend of mine, Sarah. Jen conducted most of the interview since I already know Sarah so well.

"You need to know that when people come in together, they want to stay together."

Sarah is a 26-yr-old elementary school student in North Carolina. She is in DC for the summer working an internship in development at an education policy firm. She graduated from Duke University, where she was involved in Delta Gamma Fraternity (and where she and I met!) and Hoof and Horn, a musical theater group. She is originally from La Quinada near LA. She did musical theater in high school, as well. She was also involved in cheer when she was younger. She described getting ready for cheer events as "fun to be in a group of girls getting ready together." She and the other girls had to create "networks" on top of their heads then curl the remaining hair in a ponytail. After that, they covered their hair in glitter. It sounded like a very complicated, painful, glitter-tastic experience.

Sarah now considers herself lower-maintenance. She said she likes to go to happy hours or out with her roommates on weekends. She's staying with two girls in her old apartment, where she lived prior to moving to NC. On weekends, she does like to sleep in then go to brunch or get coffee near her apartment. When she does go out, it's usually on H St because it's within walking distance from her place. Most of her time getting ready is spent deciding what to wear. She does not spend much time on her hair because it's so thick but easy to blow dry on her own.

Sarah's most recent experience getting ready for a wedding was a couple months ago. She attended a college friend's wedding in LA. She said she forgot her eye shadow and mascara in DC so she went to her local Merle Norman. She bought her two products and the makeup artist there did her makeup for free. She had previously had her makeup done at Merle Norman for her senior portraits and for her sister's wedding.

Her sister was married several years ago and Sarah was in the wedding. She and her sister got pedicures together the day before the wedding to have sister bonding time. The next day, the whole bridal party had hair and makeup done by professionals who were hired by Sarah's sister.

Other recent experience included getting ready for fraternity and sorority formals and for formal events through Advisory Board Company, her previous employer. She said that for sorority formals, she and her "family" would get pedicures together. She also would get ready with her Big Sister or with her roommates but it was not a huge event. The Advisory Board Company rented a hotel room for her team so she and the rest of the group got ready for the event together in the room then took a cab to the party. 

Sarah loves to get pedicures in groups but she hates when the group gets split up. She likes to be able to sit with her friends to chat and enjoy the experience together. She sees it as a great time for bonding and relaxing with a little pampering. She thinks it gets incredibly awkward when she and her friends end up seated with a random person between them.

After Sarah discussed, her experiences, Jen and I presented her with the idea behind Beauty Bar. She personally would not pay $35 for a blowout because it is not essential for her hair type. She does like the idea behind it, though, and she said she has friends who would use it. She mentioned Mimosa and a few other hair and nail salons that service mimosas and champagne during the service. She said she would likely pay extra for premium liquors if they were offered during the service and she was with a group. Sarah would go to a place like Beauty Bar for special events or birthday celebrations. She said it would not be a place she would go weekly to get ready for a Saturday night out because she wouldn't want to overdo it. The services she would prefer are nails and makeup application (pedicure over manicure, would do both if she weren't a teacher who has to be price-conscious). She suggested massage chairs, magazines, tv, possibly "old school" videogames, mini-muffins, fruit, veggies (if fresh for each group) and other bite-sized snacks. She thinks it's fair to pay $75 for two services and suggested a BYOB option with a small corking fee. Sarah said she is likely to attend more than once a year but not every month. If she were getting married, she would take the whole bridal party there because it would be fun. She also thought a beauty brunch could be fun. She does not have a preference for makeup brand as long as it will not make her break out and she could have the option to bring specific product for application.

Jules (right) and Andrea (left), "If I was loaded, I would do it every day!"

Andrea is a 20-yr-old student at a university in Boston. She is in DC for the summer as an RA for a program hosted at Georgetown. During the school year, she typically wakes up, washes her face, gets dressed and heads to the dining hall. She refuses to skip breakfast, unless she wakes up after 2pm. She usually works out about 3 times a week. She refuses to go out on two consecutive nights. When she goes out, she usually hangs out at a friend's apartment. She gets manicures and pedicures only when someone else is paying for them. She would get a hand, foot or body massage, though. She cuts her hair twice a year and chops off about 5 to 7 inches each time to donate. She already has her new hair style planned for when she goes in later this summer. She had her friends send her ideas and she picked the winner (it sounded like a less-glam Gwen Stefani cut). Andrea was very talkative but definitely not a potential customer.

Jules is a 21-yr-old undergraduate student at Georgetown University. She has grown up in DC and her parents still live in the area. She generally goes for a run in the morning. She washes her hair every three days and usually wears minimal makeup during the day. When she is getting ready to go out at night, she will spend around 2 hours to primp. She attended an all-girl high school so the dress was the biggest issue when she attended prom. She did get her hair and nails done the day of prom, starting at 9am. She tends to get her hair cut every 3 months but she does not always get it blown out. When she gets ready for a night out, she usually gets ready with her roommates. They share a few glasses of wine, ask each other for advice and borrow each other's makeup. She gets asked to get her nails done with friends but she does not do it often because it's too expensive. Jules said she loves Dry Bar and she went there before her boyfriend's formal. She said it's something she couldn't do on her own but that the pricing is good. She said she wished they had a nail package for an additional $10 or so. When she had her hair done for the formal, she had to rush home with her jacket covering her head because it had started to drizzle and she was afraid the rain would ruin her new blow out. She said she wished she had had a way to go directly to the event instead of rushing home to change into her Rent the Runway dress. 

Visiting Blowout Bar in DC

Blowout bar is drybar's competitor, centrally on 23rd and L in NW between three metro stops (about 1/2 mile away).  It was hard to find because the signage wasn't that great and Google maps is off by about a block.  But once I got inside, I knew that I would eventually have to make an appointment.

It's sleek and pretty.  I am saddened that they were not as busy as DryBar.  There was one person working and one customer.  When I arrived, the customer, Angela, was getting her hair washed and treated by Star, the only person working.  They were extremely friendly and welcoming.

I started my questions with "why only blowouts?"  Star stated that because its fast.  She explained the menu, from their express (no wash, come in wet, and just dry) to their updos.  She confirmed no nails, no waxing.  She said the only other place that she knows of who can deliver good blowouts are Dominican salons.  However, blowout bar is totally different from Dominican Salons in how they perform the blowout and the products they use.  They use specialty products and have several treatments to include lavender, keratin, and even clip on extensions.

Their clientele consist of a lot of college students, bridal parties, and local residents.  Angela, the current client, stated she came once, and then booked through September.

They had a wedding party on Saturday that reserved the entire salon for three hours.  Although they officer wine and champagne, the wedding party brought in their own food and drinks (liquor).  They have also had some photo shoots in their store recently.  She showed me their dressing room for customers who want to get ready at the salon.  Beautiful little room.


All stylists are certified.

Why does Blowout Bar not do nails?  According to Star, adding nails to their menu is outside of the concept.  

Lessons learned: Blowout Bar is better than DryBar.

Visit to drybar in DC

That is NOT my car in the reflection.

Having never been to drybar, I was thrilled by what I saw when walking in, a clean and fresh looking salon.  There were about 5 women getting their hair blown out, and maybe 8 chairs.  The music was something of a modern mix up of 50’s music, if that makes sense.  I could almost picture the stylists busting a move and turning the venue into a Broadway show with synchronized drying and singing.  Upon entering, I immediately started snapping pictures until I was greeted by the front desk clerk.  I told her I was a Georgetown student doing a class project and was hoping I could interview someone in the store.  She asked if I would like to talk to the manager on duty and I naturally agreed that would be best.







While I waited for the manager to come out from her office, I witnessed several servers bringing glasses of crisp white wine to their customers.  I almost asked if they had room for a walk-in; the wine looked that good.  When the manager appeared, I greeted her, Danielle with the same story; however, she wasn't buying it.  I promised her the interview wouldn't be published anywhere except with our professor but she finally said that she isn't allowed to answer questions.  She did offer to give me the corporate manager’s email and assured me that the corporate representative would respond to me very quickly.  While she was writing down the email on a business card, I casually asked her some questions, as if I was interested as a customer.

What did I learn from the manager who wouldn't be interviewed?  Well, in her ‘professional’ opinion, drybar does not do nails because of the smell.  Also, they have a nail salon next door.  They have excellent hours and then best time to get an appointment is during the week because the weekends are busy.  They are open late, until 10pm almost every night except Friday and Saturday.  All of their stylists are licensed and have jobs cutting/coloring hair when they are not working at drybar. 

Even though Danielle wouldn't let me formally interview her, the visit was definitely valuable.  I still plan to email the corporate representative.