Blow Dry Bars are the hottest new beauty salon on the scene, and one has opened up in the heart of Kansas City. No cutting and coloring here, though – it’s all about hair design and styling! Parlor is Kansas City’s first blow-dry and cosmetic bar, where you can stop in to have your hair or makeup done either on your own or in a group. Either way you’re going to have a great time and walk out feeling fabulous. Parlor: A Beauty Bar is located at 608 1/2 W. 48th St., Kansas City, MO 64111 and you can book an appointment by calling 816-561-1302. We checked in with Meg Haas, the owner of Parlor, a “beauty bar” located on the Kansas City Plaza to find out more about what a blowdry bar is, what kinds of clients they serve and services they perform, and what she looks for in blow dry bar employees as a salon owner.
Now, enjoy this interview with the lovely and talented owner, Meg Haas! Thanks for watching!
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
The following is brought to you by Beauty Schools Directory.
I’m Meg Haas, and I own Parlor, which is a blow dry and beauty bar on the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City.
What exactly is a blow dry bar?
I consider it a place for pretty. So there’s no obligatory services here, we just make people feel good. We wash, blow dry and style here according to either their description or to ours, whichever. We also have a makeup artist on hand. It’s a place to get together, relax, get a little bit of a service done and walk out feeling good.
How did you get started in the beauty business?
Well, I would say my background in cosmetology is minimal. I am a business student through and through. Once I graduated with my MBA, I read some articles in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, what-have you, Vogue - my bible. I decided that Kansas City doesn’t have one of these, and we have women that are pretty and need to feel good and are stylish. So I was like, “Let’s do this!”
What do you look for in employees?
Employees of a blow dry bar are interesting. The skills that I look for are different than other salons. Time is of interest to salon owners in general, but here it’s very strict time schedule because often times a stylist could do anywhere up to 16 blow-outs on a Saturday. So a 40-minute time frame is really important to stick with, because we don’t have another stylist to take up your slack. So timing, speed. Also, engaging with the client because it’s such an experience-based service. That engagement between a client and a stylist is so important because they have to enjoy what they’re getting done. So that’s important. I would say a confident ease about them. They know what they’re doing, it’s easy for them to do something the client isn’t able to do themselves. An easy-going attitude because a lot of clients do their hair everyday, have a specific way they want their hair done everyday, but maybe aren’t the best at doing it that way themselves. So the ease of working with people and also doing the service is important.
Who should come to a blow dry bar?
Our perfect client is any woman that’s looking for something maybe they can’t do or aren’t willing to do for themselves. We run the gamut from 85-year-olds to 13-year-olds. In terms of our makeup bar, we teach girls how to put on their own makeup all the time for the first time, so moms bring their daughters in. And then for the hair, 85-year-olds that maybe aren’t willing or able physically to wash and blowdry their hair everyday, so we do a lot of those. Our perfect client, I wouldn’t say that there’s any perfect. Obviously we want to work with easy hair, but that’s not always easy to find, and nobody really has perfect hair. I don’t really know the answer to that question. I’m not going to pigeon-hole myself, just so you know camera! Laughs.
What can groups go to a blow dry bar for?
Group events in Parlor are pretty fun. We have bachelorette parties, girls’ night out, mother-in-law/daughter-in-law, baby showers, birthday parties, anything really – job interviews, a lot of first dates, a lot of meeting the future parents-in-law. We have a lot of special events that people bring their friends in for. It ends up turning into a therapy session between you and your friend, you both get your hair done, it’s faster than a manicure and a pedicure, it’s less expensive, and you walk out looking great. Nobody can always see your toes, but everybody can always see your hair and your face. There’s nothing better than getting pretty with a girlfriend.
What are your top 3 tips for entering the cosmetology business?
I would say networking is really important. Number two, finding your niche, finding what you’re really good at. In business school I wasn’t always great with numbers, but I’m really great at talking and interviewing. So you find what you’re good at and you make that your asset, and the other stuff just kind of falls into place that you have to work harder at. Number three, I would say staying on top of your craft. Always reading and learning and educating yourself on what’s new, because the industry is not static. It’s always evolving. Staying on top of your craft is really important.
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