I feel terrible leaving anything but a positive review, especially for this business, as the people…read morethere seem kind and hardworking, which is why I gave an extra star. But I unfortunately had the least effective blowout I've ever paid for here.
The pros:
Open on Sundays, lots of available slots when I booked last-minute, relatively easy online booking process, convenient location with lots of parking available (at least when I went), a good variety and selection of products, including cruelty-free options, and of course, friendly and kind folks work here.
The cons:
-They did not answer the phone when I called. I understand the loud nature of a blowdry bar, but I think they should have someone handling calls.
-The price of a blowout is $15 higher than my normal salon, The Bvsement, or pretty much any other salon I've been to. Here it's $65+ for a blowout. That's steep, which is fine and understandable, IF you're getting a great blowout on El Paseo.
-I arrived for my first ever appointment and was warmly greeted by a lovely young woman who politely introduced herself as Leslie. Before she approached me to tell me she would be doing my hair, she was finishing up her previous client's hair, which looked sleek and fabulous, so I felt confident that I was in good hands.
I told Leslie that I was trying to head out to an event and had already shampooed and conditioned my hair at home before the appointment. I often do this and ask for just a rinse and conditioner instead, if the stylist is ok with it. Leslie looked at my hair and said it was the perfect wetness for a blowout. I was slightly confused, as no stylist has ever done this before, but I figured the professionals know what they're doing.
I sat down, was offered and brought a glass of water, and asked if product in my hair was ok. I said yes and pointed to one I use at home for blowouts. Leslie kindly selected it to use but proceeded to spray about 1/3rd of the amount I spray at home. Again, I didn't question her expertise.
She asked about how I like to part my hair but proceeded to totally forget the answer shortly thereafter.
She began to section and pin my hair, and I felt doubtful about her skill level due to how she was doing it. At this point, my hair was drying fast. I mentioned I use a spray bottle of water at home, but she didn't seem to take the suggestion.
When the blow drying began, I knew something was off and that my hair was NOT going to look good. From the way she handled my hair, it was evident she doesn't know how to do a proper blowout. It's hard to explain, but the handling of my hair, the sections, the brush, and the blow dryer were all indicators.
At one point, the blow dryer felt hot on my neck, was loudly blasted into my ear, and she made a joke about the round brush eating my hair (which was cute under all other circumstances but at this particular point very concerning).
The first section looked awful. She fluffed it with her hands and mumbled something encouraging to herself and moved on. The rest of the experience made it clear that my hair was going to look terrible once she was done. I just breathed and hoped for the best.
Once finished, she said there you go, added some VERY fragrant oil to my hair that I did not like (I am not sensitive to scents and this overpowered my perfume all evening), asked if I wanted hairspray (standard to set big blowout curls). My hair looked frizzy and undone so I asked for a mirror to see the back. She kept saying, see, it's done. It was a strange experience, though I am sure that's not what she intended.
I was not happy but didn't have time to ask for revisions or discuss anything.
I went up front to pay, and I never ever feel this way, but it was genuinely upsetting to pay $65+ for undone hair. Again, I typically pay $50 + 25% tip to The Bvsement for a perfect blowout in 50 minutes.
Later, I realized they didn't even offer to charge me the price of a blowout without a wash; most salons have this option so you can come in with dry or washed hair. When paying for a wash and blowout, stylists typically will at least let you get your money's worth by doing a quick condition and rinse. But this wasn't discussed here. Not a big deal but part of the overall annoyance.
I got in my car and confirmed my hair looked awful. I ended up late to my event because I basically had to run over my entire head with a hot tool to get the look of a blowout. This should have been offered as a quick fix when it became clear that the stylist was not able to do a blowout. She was not doing any steps of a proper blowout, so my hair came out frizzy, unsmooth, and undone.
Leslie is a very kind person, but sadly, this was the worst blowout I've ever had. I will not be back. I have some pictures to show the results; no one should EVER walk out of any salon or blowdry bar with their hair looking like this. At the slightly higher price point, it's extra disappointing.
