First the nail bar, now the blowdry bar ... convenience comes to town.
When Theresa Gattung was Telecom boss, much was made of her early morning discipline of taking a swim. At least one aspect of her long day in the corporate shark pool was firmly under control, for she followed her workout with a blowdry before striding forth to do battle with helmet hair.
Such power grooming - or exercising - is foreign to me, being more in the wash and wear camp. Sadly, this lazy look is now seriously out of fashion. So, too, is over-tortured straight hair, while smoothed-out styles or controlled curls that look effortless - but are actually artful - are all the go. The likes of Sara Tetro model it well, with hair that flows becomingly thanks to a gentle helping hand.
If, like me, you eye other women's hair and envy their superior DIY skills with the blowdryer, take heart, for I'm discovering that many are secretly nipping off to the hairdresser rather than fighting the good fight in front of the bathroom mirror.
For busy professional women or those on the social circuit, a good blowdry is a boon. Tanya Abbott, L'Oreal's communications manager, is a dab hand at doing her own, but she's also a firm believer in the professional version.
"It sets you up for the rest of the week." She knows a number of high-profile women, particularly in the fashion and beauty world, who regularly stop off on the way to the office for a blowdry.
That's about to get a whole lot easier with the opening of the first - and sure not to be the last - specialist blowdry bar in New Zealand. Quick styling is about to step out from the salon and become part of the shopping trip.
Award-winning Auckland hairdresser Mana Dave is the man behind Pony Xpress which opens on Friday in the new Glassons concept store on Broadway, Newmarket. Topshop in London has a similar one-stop shop service and it's wildly popular.
The Pony Express "pod" will cater for walk-in clients and make changing your hairstyle as easy as picking out a new pair of earrings. A seasonal menu of eight runway-inspired, blowdry-based, dry-styling looks and updos will be offered as well as a wash and blowdry service. Each takes 30 minutes and costs $35 for the menu looks and from $45 for the full blowdry, undercutting most "name" and many chain salon prices.
Dave describes his new venture as part of an international trend for head-to-toe grooming. "We are really excited, and so are Glassons, to be the first to bring this type of service to New Zealand."
Designer Katie Lockhart is behind the fitout of the pod, which houses three stylists. She worked on The Department Store and also at Dave's colourful Blaze salon just up the road. "We always had it in our minds," says Dave, "to create an interesting addition, something retail, something dimensionally different, but which still had the same spirit and culture."
In his case that's more than skin deep branding - he wears a tattoo of Blaze the little pony on his wrist and has incorporated the logo into both salons as a symbol of an engaging free spirit.
He's convinced the blowdry bar concept will spread "because it's a service to invigorate your daily look, it's easy and it's accessible.
"It's not about eight-week styling experiences, it's about today, right now and looking different, feeling better and enjoying the moment."
In Sydney blowdry bars have popped up in the same way as nail bars did a few years earlier. Across much of Europe and South America the idea of a weekly blowdry is long established.
Takapuna salon Morgan & Morgan has two Brazilians on staff, with owner Steve Morgan saying they're used to dealing with a range of ethnically diverse hair from a population of appearance-conscious women."They've grown up blowdrying gorgeous, glamorous Brazilian women and are superb at creating sexy voluminous hair."
His clients are responding, with some that only came in once every five to six weeks now booking weekly.
Coming out of a recession, with clients across the industry stretching out the time between expensive colour and cuts, it's simply good business to encourage them back into the salon with a smaller spend. "It's brought clients into the salon that otherwise wouldn't have been there," says Morgan.
Doing blowdries also keeps staff busy, with some having to upskill after years of ruffle-drying hair and finishing it off with straighteners. Now they need to learn how to do the brushwork essential to a lasting blowdry.
Toni & Guy's New Zealand managing director, Cameron Grimshaw, says the appeal of the blowdry is the client can look and feel good quickly.
"The 20 to 30 minute blowdry is not a big commitment in time or money. Such a transformation can be for an array of reasons from important business presentations to cocktail party."
Louise Pilkington at Servilles Ponsonby says blow waves for events are a growing part of her business. She has plenty of customers with a standing appointment for a weekly blowdry. About a year ago she even started an express service to cater for those women who can't take 35-45 minutes on a blowdry and others who told her they wished they could iron "the way my hairdresser does." If they pop in with clean, dried hair, they can have a "zhuzh" up in 15-20 minutes.
"Lots of women come in twice a week for this, or treat a friend to one of theirs on the [loyalty] card, especially on a Friday afternoon."
For some salons busy blowdry bookings are nothing new. Grant Bettjeman says some of his customers don't even have shampoo at home. His Orakei salon has around 50 regulars who come in every week and a few that come in two or three times. Then there's dozens more special occasion blowdries to do each week, with red carpet styling a specialty.
"The blow dry has been an essential service for European women forever. We, in New Zealand, with our wash-and-wear low maintenance attitudes to our hair grooming, have been slow to catch up," says Bettjeman.
He's noticed a shift over the last 10 years, with the growing trend to more styled hair driven by the celebrity market and adopted by style-conscious 20-40 year olds.
"The 50-plus bracket has always been open to weekly blowdries and for the first time are sharing this service with their daughters."
Readers with long memories will remember the days of the shampoo and set, a weekly outing to the suburban salon that was part social occasion and part essential grooming for many New Zealand women. A similar conviviality has sprung up in salons where regulars now congregrate for blowdries. These days, the cuppa has most often been replaced with a flat white and thumbing through the women's mags substituted with scrolling through cellphone messages.
The end result is the same, women who snatch a little timeout and leave looking and feeling better than when they went in.
Tricks of the trade
A decent blowdry should last three or more days, unless your hair is naturally greasy. Overloading it with product and spray will actually lessen the longevity of the style.
The secret is plenty of tension in the blowdrying and some decent brushwork to help it hold shape. This is generally the difference between a professional and a DIY do.
Lauren Gunn, creative director of Stephen Marr salons explains: "What you're doing when you're styling hair is breaking down the hydrogen bonds." By taking hair from wet to dry and hot to cold, the bonds are changed and new shapes can be created.
Grant Bettjeman says someone who is good at blowdrying will be able to control the roots to give direction and natural volume to any style. This has a bonus of not only shaping hair, but also preserving its style.
"Volume and lift at the roots keeps the natural sebum off the hairshaft and even oily hair may last for up to three days."
The most useful products offer help with volume, shine and light control. Innovative new products that add texture and a matte finish are being used for runway hair, but have less appeal for everyday and special occasion styling.
The trend is for hair to be dressed from roots to ends for a stylish, finished look. Waves are in, and poker-straight is not.
The days of "bed hair" are over, says Gunn. Forget also all natural, effortless and undone.
Mana Dave says traditional techniques and "Old Hollywood" styling are being supported by high-tech products for looks that are "dressed out" with a strong theme of wave, curl and texture. Hot tongs are often used in combination with blowdryers.
Danny Pato of D&M Ponsonby says that while looks should be individually tailored, the wavy trend breaks down into two easy references:
* Think 60s with a twist of modern Bridget Bardot, with volume on the roots and a loose wave.
* Think 70s, Farrah Fawcett, with big, loose waves flicking off the face, plus a bit of grunge.
Louise Pilkington says a good on-trend blowdry should deliver movement. "Not necessarily curls, although they are still popular, but slight waves and softness around the face. Volume works well with this look as well, so it is flattering to most people."
Bettjeman concurs that curls and soft movement are the current commercial hair trends. "Twist dries" give a soft, editorial look, he says. "And even the ever-popular bob is getting the soft, full, random kick treatment that looks a bit different each time it's done."
A heads up of what's on offer
* A shampoo and blowdry at a recognised professional salon usually costs upwards of $50-$60, but a number of salons are now offering express services or cheaper deals. Ask your stylist what's they can do for you, particularly if you're a regular. (Check out if you can save them time and you money by coming in with damp hair that you've washed at home, though many will prefer to apply their own product.)
* If you're going somewhere new ask if a junior or a senior will be working on you. Prices - and expertise - vary considerably. For an everyday look a junior should be well trained enough to do a good job, but if you're after lasting impact be specific about what you want.
* A shorter-lived but quicker alternative to a decent blowdry is to ask for dry styling with hair irons, to either smooth or curl your hair without the need for a wash first.
Here are a few of the innovative service offers out there, ask around for more.
Pony Xpress set menu dry-styling $35, wash and blow wave from $45. Both 30-minute duration. (Hours: Monday-Thursday, 8.30am-6pm, Friday, until 7pm, Saturday 9am-6pm, Sunday 10am-5pm. To book, phone (09) 520 5086, 237 Broadway, Newmarket.)
Servilles Ponsonby Express Service 15-20-minute style refresh costs $25, or buy a card of five for $100. Booking necessary.
Morgan & Morgan offer wash.blow.go, a weekday daytime service for $40, compared with a standard $60 blow wave price and $80 for the Blow Wave Plus where long hair is also styled with rollers and irons.
Bettjemans offers weekly and special occasion-type blowdries. Regulars can get a five-minute "zhuzh", whereby those who have had a blowdry in the last day or so can pop in and have a brush and hot dryer run through their hair to freshen it up.
Stephen Marr salons have introduced a deal for university or high school students, where with a cut and blow wave, they can choose between a complimentary mini mani, mini pedi or brow shape or opt for 50 per cent off an organic spray tan. (Cutting prices vary depending on stylist seniority.)
