CINCINNATI -- Not only is the wife of England’s Prince William always impeccably dressed, but Kate’s hair always has that fabulous, frizz-free, healthy, shiny, beautifully-finished look to it.
This look is so coveted, it actually has a name: the blow out.
Although women have been blow-drying their hair for decades, salons known as stylebars have been opening up all across the country in the past few years.
That’s right, these salons will give you a blow out, just like Kate, a Kardashian or other celebs walking the red carpet.
In fact, for the owner of Blowout Z Bar, it was this California influence that helped her decide to open her salon.
“I was in Los Angeles for a meeting, and I visited a blow out salon there,” Zamaris Geleszinski said. “I loved the look, the quick service and the entire experience.”
So when she lost her job as a banker, a job she had had for 23 years, she decided to open up Blowout Z Bar on Red Bank Road.
After just four months, she is preparing to open new locations on Beechmont Avenue and in Northern Kentucky by the end of the year. She hopes to open two more locations in 2017.
“We focus on the experience,” she said. “We have a laid-back, fun atmosphere, and we serve mimosas or Champagne to our clients. We give them what they need whether it is an express blow out for just $30 or they can treat themselves to a scalp massage for even more pampering.”
In this high-stress world, these salons offer an escape.
“The blow out is an affordable luxury,” said Ellie Burke, owner of Zephr Blowout Salon in Oakley. “For just $35, our customers can get a wash, blow out and ironwork and look fantastic.”
Burke compares it to a modern-day version of the shampoo and set our grandmothers used to get once a week.
At BLOWN Blow Dry Studio in Kenwood, employees focus on the style and the convenience.
“Our customers come in on their lunch hour or between meetings, and in 45 minutes they have a great style that could last three-plus days,” manager Rachel Salinaro said. “We don’t offer cuts or chemicals. Our focus is on the blow out, braid or updo.”
BLOWN also offers private lessons in the art of the blow out, as well as private parties for girls' nights or bridal parties getting ready for a wedding.
One of the first salons to capitalize on this trend is called Dry Bar, which started in the Los Angeles area about three years ago. Dry Bar’s concept of “no cuts, no color!” caught on, and today the company has more than 60 locations across the country. On top of that, there are now hundreds of similar style bars working from this same business concept.
This fast-food approach to hairstyle has not hurt full-service salons. In fact, at Mitchell’s Salon and Day Spa in Kenwood, the manager said that these studios have not taken anything from the salon’s business.
“The blow out hair style is very popular and almost impossible to do on yourself,” said Chris Gilbert, managing director. “People go to the style places when they need something quick, but they know to come to us for full services like haircuts or salon services.”
On the education side, cosmetology schools have put more emphasis on this style trend.
“Thermal styling is a fundamental part of our core training,” said Molly Naas, a lead educator at Regency Beauty Institute in Eastgate. “But we definitely strive to keep our students in the loop with what is popular and give them practical experience in a style they will probably be creating every day.
“The amount of requests for the blow out style and blow out salons popping up really shows how much this trend is growing, well, booming, actually.”
