Drybar – Palo Alto

this place is always iffy. I’ve been here at least 10 times for different events (every high school formal, proms, and graduation/​graduation parties) and every time they’re late. even if there is nobody in the store, they’re running behind. however, they make up for tardiness with sweet employees and pretty good customer service. they always greet you with a smile. I went in a few days ago and there was an English woman who was working on the floor for the first time – she was awesome! that was the only good thing about my recent trip though. I waited for 25 minutes to be seen (therefore making me late to my own party). my stylist left halfway through because she didn’t know what she was doing!!! I had to tip TWO different people because my first stylist didn’t know how to do the braid I wanted.

This is a great blowout salon. I love getting my hair done by Xuan, when she styles my hair it lasts for days. Wonderful products, great clean atmosphere, and Xuan is an awesome stylist.

It was horrible!!! Didn’t know how to wash or handle my hair, so rough. Seriously I could have done a better job at blow drying my hair. The hair dresser had absolutely no idea what to do with a simple style. Waste of money & time.

We made an appointment for our daughter to get her hair done beautifully for her graduation today. Instead of making her feel beautiful and special, they made her feel like she had a deadly virus.
They saw that she might have lice and couldn’t do her hair. I understand it’s a difficult situation but she’s a teenager. instead of being discreet and talking to me aside, they made a big deal about it. What was supposed to be a special day was ruined by them.
Instead of feeling beautiful, my daughter left upset and crying.

This was the worst experience at a blowdry bar I’ve ever had. I’ve never been here before, I usually go to Bounce Blowdry Bar in Oakland. Wish I would of done that instead but because this was so close to the job location I was at on this day, I decided to come here.
The lady that did my blow out was very harsh on my scalp and she pulled my hair at the shampoo bowel, I told her it didn’t feel very good and she explained to let her know when she was giving too much pressure, even while she continued to be the same amount of rough after I had told her she was. She did not shampoo the bottom part of my scalp which feels pretty disgusting now. She put wayyyy too much of the serum I brought for styling, I don’t really know why?
Then she proceeded to take such a long time on my blowout, and complained about her personal life experiences even though I had already hinted to her, «After a long day of working with tons of people, I really don’t feel like talking very much.» She kept on asking me odd questions, like whats my favorite movie? The questions and discussion of her personal family life were just out of no where. I’m not a psychologist, and do not feel like hearing all of this! Totally the opposite of relaxation after I’m off of work!
She kept leaving to find a different brush as if this was going to fix the big bump she created with the blowdryer and round brush on the bottom portion of my hair. I had a work binder on the counter where she had told me it would be safe, yet she kept putting her blowdryer and spray bottle on it and when I had left the salon, the side of the binder was breaking and their was water all of it. Then I paid $ 45 for this disaster that I will have to rewash and fix today.

If a zero star was possible…
Do not come here if you expect customer service or a relaxing experience.
I made two 8a appointments for Saturday morning (when the salon opens) for my daughter and me. (We were in town for my brother’s graduation and I wanted our hair to look good for the countless pictures.) When I made the appointment, I requested a braid updo for my daughter.
They didn’t see me until after 820a with no explanation or apology. They didn’t see my daughter until after 845a, again without an explanation or even an apology. Customers who arrived AFTER my daughter were seen BEFORE her. My daughter didn’t get the braid updo she wanted. I spent the entire time my hair was getting done stressing out about whether we’d make it to graduation on time.
It’s not surprising that no one offered us anything to drink or why there was complete chaos with our appointments — the manager was too busy doing her make up in the back.
And to top it all off, when I checked out I was asked if I wanted to give a tip by the very manager who not once kept me informed of what was going on, never apologized for the delay or the fact that my daughter didn’t get the requested style.
If you’re a stylist and you don’t show up to work on time, you don’t get a tip. If you’re a manager and you don’t manage the appointments, you don’t ask for a tip. Last I checked, tips are for good service. As a Barfly member who comes in 5−6x a month and routinely tips $ 10 and often tips $ 20 to my two favorite stylists at the Drybar Bethesda location, I think Drybar owes me AND my daughter.

The update is they asked for my email so they could contact me. They wanted to tell me my membership was canceled. Wow, I had been a loyal customer since they started. They really don’t care about their customers. Go somewhere that you will be valued!

Disappointed to say the least with the staff and my blow out. Went home and washed my hair to remove the products that left it limp and lifeless
The staff was rude in addition to the horrible blow out
Just after this was posted Erin Customer Relations Manager called and Emailed with a resolution. I’m giving the 5 stars for the excellent customer service Erin provided
She has reinforced my belief Drybar is the best blow out salon
Thank you Erin

Love this place! Everyone is so nice and friendly.
They all equally do a great job and the manager here is always so accommodating.
5 stars!

This was just about the worst customer service experience I have ever encountered. I have been to this location a few times. The actual styling is decent, but I mostly go there because it is close to where I live. This is for sure my last visit.
Upon arriving the receptionist was incredibly curt and ordered me to «sit down». Interestingly, I was not the only one being treated poorly. When my stylist was trying to find a seat to start, the receptionist was short with her as well and unhelpful. The stylist independently resolved the issue by taking me into the private room. The culture of the place seems to have an unfriendly atmosphere between employees that carries over to customers.
Anyway, I ignored the initial experience I had with the receptionist and thankfully my stylist did a decent job. However as I was leaving, I received even more attitude from her and was talked down to as I tried to pay and leave a tip. She then proceeded to talk to her manager about me and pointed while snickering. I really had to pause and ask myself if this was really happening or did I just time travel to middle school. I don’t know about you, but if I am paying $ 45 for a service + tip, I expect a minimal level of professionalism and customer service.
This is the best part though: after calling customer service to give feedback, they forwarded my complaint to the branch for response. The manager called me pretending to be an uninvolved party and «inquire» about my complaint. This is where I draw the line.
All businesses and service industries will have incidents and employees that are out of line, but it is how they deal with those events that set different businesses apart. DryBar clearly neither cares about the customer experience nor are they motivated to improve the quality of their service. This is the kind of business I absolutely avoid, because the lack of accountability can mean that if you go there and the stylist burns your hair or your appointment is cancelled, you will be out of luck. I’ll drive the extra 10 minutes and go to Halo instead.

I usually have great success with the Pac Heights & Burlingmae locations. Sadly, this location is ALWAYS running late. Like even on a Monday at 1 pm running late, like even when there are only 2 ppl in there.
Also, the stylists in there have never done me justice like many of the stylists in the other locations. Not sure if that is the luck of the draw with who I have been paired up with, or the pool of talent. I just seem to find I get consistently better blow outs at other locations.

Meh. I really want to like Dry bar. I love the décor, products and concept.
That said, the first time I went, I waited 30 minutes before I was seated despite having an appointment. The blonde receptionist was rude and aloof — in fact, all the staff here all seem fairly miserable.
I returned a second time hoping for a better experience. This time they switched stylists right after the hair wash and I was left with the towel on my head for waaay to long. I was freezing! Haha.
I feel like a blow dry is a very luxurious thing… it should make you feel beautiful. I felt like I was inconveniencing everyone there! Left with mediocre styling both times.
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I have been to this location on several occasions and sadly every time I have gone in it has gone from bad to worse. I really want to like this place because c’mon who doesn’t want to love a place that washes, dries and styles your hair for you, right? But sadly this hasn’t been the case for me. I went in on Saturday ²⁄₁₃ for my service. I was greeted promptly and my wait time to be attended to was minimal. I have to say that my stylist was very friendly and very courteous. No points taken away there.
I did let me stylist know that my hair can be a bit oily and that my curls can fall flat from the gate. I wanted lots of volume and curls. My shampoo was great, no complaints. I really felt like we were on the right track as my hair was being dried. All the right products were being used and I felt like things were flowing well. That is until I saw my hair. My hair lay flat on my head, no volume, no life whatsoever. My curls went in all different directions and my hair just looked a hot mess. I did ask for more volume but when it was «fixed» it still looked the same. By the time I got home my hair curls were gone and my hair was flat. I walked in the door and my husband asked «what time is your hair appointment» which is not the reaction you want to get.
I have no problem with the price, if the services meet the price expectations. I don’t care if I pay $ 45 for a blowout (it takes time to shampoo, blow-​dry and style the hair… if it was easy we all wouldn’t go to have someone else do it for us) BUT I want to walk out of there feeling like a million bucks. I want to walk into my house and have my husband say «your hair looks great». It was just sad. I had dinner plans that night and I had to bust out my own curling iron and tease brush to fix my hair. Not really sure that I will be back here again, it just hurts to give away $ 45 for a shampoo and a mediocre blowout.

I had been wanting to treat myself and go to a dry bar for a while now, and I figured this would be the place to go. Unfortunately I wouldn’t return.
The woman at the front desk was quite nice upon arrival and happy to help me. Once I got my stylist she was not extremely nice, nice enough but nothing outstanding. None of the stylists were nice to each other and not one customer was talking to another, everyone was on their phones the whole time. Not a warm place, even with 10 hairdryers.
The overall cleanliness was fine at first glance, however hair balls the size of melons were rolling around and trapped in corners, especially in the shampooing room. The decoration of the dry bar is so cute, though! It was nicely designed with this cheeky pop of yellow as their signature.
Now the actual styling, it was not good. My stylist told me multiple times that my hair would last 2 – 3 days. It was nowhere near that. I went in at 1pm, was out by 2:15, and my hair was completely flat by 5pm that day. That’s 3 HOURS. A huge letdown. The style wasn’t really what I asked for and did not make me feel great about paying $ 45 plus tip for something I wasn’t happy with.
The whole trip was a disappointment, I could deal with the hair balls and the chill, but only if the results were worth it. They simply weren’t. I was getting it all done for half the time it took to fall out.
Overall I wouldn’t recommend.

Worst experience ever. Let me just start off by saying I never write reviews, but I have been too dry bar many times before and this location is horrific.
The one girl who started off styling me should be fired. Tattoos & nose piercing (forgot her name) but avoid her at all costs! She didn’t even have me sit down in the beginning to ask me what I wanted, just went straight to washing. She had long horrible fake nails that hurt when she was washing. Even if she was a bad stylist I wouldn’t have cared, but it was her ATTITUDE. It was a joke how rude and aloof she was. I was appalled. She clearly hated her job, didn’t want to be styling me and just talked about how she wanted it to be busier because more people = more tips. Yeahhhhhh right girl, like I was going to tip you at all.
On the plus side she left in the middle of my hair drying and I got a stylist who at least had a smile on her face.
Will not be coming back
Update. I emailed you as said over a week ago and still no response. Even more disappointing that I was given hope that my issue would be resolved and it wasn’t …

I had high hopes for this place, and sadly, I was disappointed. I came in hoping for an awesome blowout, but I left feeling like my hair was just tousled a little bit with mediocre curls. For how much I paid ($ 45 before tip), I expected a lot more.
Service was great — I was offered a beverage upon entering, and the stylists were all super nice and personable. I was in and out within an hour, but I feel like with that amount of time, a better job could have been done. I asked for a cosmo-​tai and was so excited to have curls mixed with a beachy wave effect. By the end of the day, my hair was pretty much all flat and the curls were gone. I was hoping my hair would last until the day after at least! I had told the stylist that a little more product would be good for my hair since curls don’t usually hold well, and I don’t think enough product was added even after I made a comment (I didn’t want to say it again because it would be rude.).
Sigh, drybar, I was hoping you’d exceed my expectations, but alas — that is not the case!

Oh man, disappointment yet again! The biggest issue is how inconsistent dry bar can be. I get it, I have thick hair and a lot of it, but can all the folks to do things one way? I just had a great experience at the Brentwood location and an awful one in DC and yet again only to be extremely annoyed with the Palo Alto location today.
1) the front desk girl is ruuuuuude! Eyes rolling, attitude galore when I asked for the wifi password and never offered so much as a water. What happened to tea, coffee, champagne? It’s pretty obvious that the employees at the shop feel the same way about her. Next!
2) I specifically make notes in my appointment asking for a senior stylist who can handle thick hair and extra time. I even call to confirm it. I come in, and the alleged senior girl has an appointment in 30 minutes so she recruits another person to assist. Head pulled in every direction, tons of attitude (example: I was making small talk and asked the senior girl how she liked working here and her response, no joke was «I wouldn’t be here for 3 years of I didn’t». Okiiiie dooooookie). I even come with pictures from what the girl at the Brentwood shop did!
3) no one ever asked if I was ok with product.
4) at the end of it I walked away with barely ok looking blow out (nothing like my Brentwood pictures), frizz galore in 2 hours time as expected and just full blown frustration.
$ 45? Dry bar, your prices are as inconsistent nation wide as your service! I have an appointment in Burlingame booked for the end of the month but I think I will be cancelling!

I’ve been to this Drybar a few times and have never loved my experience. When I go to the salon, I like to relax. For whatever reason, I just haven’t been able to feel relaxed and comfortable here.
Climate control has been an issue for me. I don’t think I’m too picky of a person, but the first time I went (in the summer) it was incredibly hot inside, and the second time (in October) it was super cold. It was a drizzly, cool day outside and the AC was on full blast. My stylist said it was broken in the «on» position. Hmm.
The stylists and receptionists never came off as friendly, but as being stuck in a job that they didn’t enjoy. That attitude rubs off on clients and makes them feel a bit uncomfortable.
Time is also an issue. Both times I went it took excess of 1 ½ hours to get a blowout (no curling or straightening iron used). It gets tedious after a while.
HOWEVER, I’ve come out of Drybar looking fabulous both times. I’m happy with the results.

A five-​hour plane ride did a number of my hair, I had a meeting in two hours… you see where this is going.
I looked up drybar, booked an appointment online, and was in a chair 45 mins later.
Daisy did my blowout, and the wash and scalp massage were awesome. I arranged for the Bay Breeze conditioning shot when I booked the appointment online, which was an upcharge, but it didn’t really do much… I actually thought she might have forgotten it because the wash was so quick. (And the more I’ve thought about it, the more I think this was totally not included… no way was a wash and conditioning treatment THAT fast.)
Anyway — the blowout was good, and the curls lasted into the evening. I was really curious about their Triple Sec product, thinking it was kind of a three-​in-​one dry shampoo, so I bought it — travel size because, well, I was traveling… damn TSA regulations.
So…
Day One: Hair looks good, I look put together for my meeting despite an early day and a long flight… life is good.
Day Two: Hair was definitely looking slept on and it was NOT a sexy kind of bedhead. But with a little bit of work with the hair dryer and my straightner — and a healthy shot of the Triple Sec — my hair looked better than Day One. All day.
Day Three: Still looking really good after the self-​touch up. Usually my hair is still looking ok but the roots need serious help by the third day and that’s pushing it. NOPE. Another shot of the Triple Sec, breakfast meeting, flew home (that’s another five hours on a plane, for anyone keeping track) and it looked good even getting off the plane.
Day Four: I’m just going to preface this by saying I have obviously showered daily, but haven’t washed my hair since the blowout. I NEVER get to a day four without washing my hair. Ever. Yet… long night, was running late this morning, hair still straight… another quick shot of the Triple Sec… this is mind blowing now. Got two compliments on my hair dropping the kid off at school. What?
I will definitely be washing my hair tonight, because frankly I just need to wash my hair. But with only minimal touch ups, this blowout lasted FOUR DAYS.
I’m hooked, and I’ll definitely be back. I love the color scheme (yellow just makes me happy) and even though the Triple Sec scent is STRONG, people around me seem to like it. And it WORKS.
Pretty much going to keep this as my go-​to stop in between airport and meeting. Happy.

I love coming to Drybar for a perfect blowout for any special occasion! The staff is always extremely friendly, they take their time pampering you throughout the shampooing to the blow drying and I’ve never had a bad blowout here. I love the «menu» of options you can choose from for styles — it acts as a great starting point and of course the stylists are all talented enough to work outside of those styles too.
I have pretty fickle hair, it kind of does whatever it wants, when it wants. But when styled at Drybar it looks fantastic and holds that style for a really long time, most times even until the next morning after a night of sleeping on it — meanwhile if I were to curl my hair on my own it would fall out in minutes.
The only thing that’s frustrating that other Unilocalers have mentioned before is it seems that they are consistently running late. I fully believe if you go through the process of making an appointment, that time should be upheld, however the attitude towards appointment times is very blasé at Drybar.
If you plan on getting your hair done the same day of a special event I would highly suggest making the appointment earlier in the day than you feel is necessary, just to ensure you’re not then panicking that you’ll be late to your event.