Would you like to sit back, relax, and drink a mimosa while getting a fabulous hairstyle? Or, maybe you would rather settle down to a chick flick or listen to some good music while stylists work their magic? Have a deadline? Bring along your laptop and get some work done while enjoying some much-needed pampering. Basically, Drybar salons are whatever you want them to be.
“So, we are all about the experience,” says Bonnie Horton Willoughby, who owns Drybar Brentwood and Drybar Nashville. “You come in and we serve coffee and different teas and champagne. We say we’re not only selling blowouts, but also happiness and confidence.”
In her former life working in Los Angeles on major television shows, she always wanted to look her professionally best. While traveling for business, Bonnie visited Drybar salons in many different cities.
“I found myself not looking for the best hotels to stay at, but looking for hotels closest to a Drybar,” says Bonnie.
When she moved to Nashville, she knew what she wanted to do with the next phase of her life. “I had always wanted to be an entrepreneur and really wanted to put some roots down here in Nashville,” she says.
With Drybar, Bonnie is enjoying being a small business owner of two local businesses. She also could not ask for better stylists; all are licensed cosmetologists who go through a Drybar training. This ensures consistency across all Drybar locations, which number in the hundreds across the U.S. and Canada.
“I love to talk about our stylists and honor them and highlight them,” she says. “Our stylists are a very eclectic bunch. Some have been doing hair for 15 years and love styling at Drybar, and then we have girls who are fresh out of school who start their careers at Drybar.”
Stylists first do a consultation with a client to find out the kind of style they’re looking to achieve. There is a book filled with an array of their signature styles, all named after well-known cocktails. After all, this is a bar.
“The most popular style here in Nashville is The Mai Tai, which is a beachy, wavy look where the ends are a little bit straighter,” says Bonnie. “The Cosmo is another popular one which has a finished curl look, more of like a Southern Belle look.”
Once a style is chosen, clients are then taken to the shampoo room, which is a luxurious part of the Drybar experience.“You get a wonderful shampoo and conditioning where you can add a scalp massage or a hydrating treatment,” she says.
On average, a visit takes about 45 minutes from beginning to end. And they style all hair types and textures.
Of course, men are welcome, too. Even those with short hair will drop in for a shampoo and a scalp massage.
They also have regular clients who come in a couple times a week. They are usually enrolled in the Barfly membership program, which is filled with great extras. “We have women who really come in to feel great before they go out with girlfriends, or go out on a date with their boyfriends or their husbands,” says Bonnie.
Since COVID-19, women are finding various reasons to get themselves to a Drybar. If not going into the office, working women still want to look great while having Zoom meetings. And stay-at-home moms need a little private time for some much-deserved self care.
Drybar stylists can also come to your residence. One recently went to a beautiful home in Brentwood for a mother-daughter get together.
“We set up our Drybar and they had wine and champagne, which they enjoyed while the stylist gave them a blowout,” says Bonnie. “They were really just enjoying some quality time together and we left them feeling amazing.”
Drybar also does what’s called a Drypro, where they send a stylist to private events for styling only (no blowouts), such as bachelorette parties and little girls’ birthday parties. They can even do braids at a pool party.
Besides a fun atmosphere and great hairstyles, Drybar also offers styling tools, such as the Double Shot, which is a brush and a blow dryer in one. Additionally, they have an extensive product line that is designed specifically for styling.
“That’s what’s unique about our products. We have a line of heat protectants, a volumizing line, a straight line, and a texturizing line,” says Bonnie. “One of our most popular products is our dry shampoo, which really helps extend the life of your blowout.”
To find out more details, go to TheDrybar.com/locations/Nashville-Brentwood-Hill-TN.