Glamsquad Styled My Hair While I Sat On My Couch In Pajamas, Now I'll Never Go To Drybar Again
Glamsquad"The Starlet"Thursday afternoon I sat in a tee shirt and sweatpants watching Scandal on Netflix. Around 4:40pm, I hopped in the shower, washed and combed my damp hair, and got back into sweats.
My doorbell rang at 5pm on the dot.
In walked Erin, a tall, cheerful redhead carrying a small suitcase. She unloaded supplies on my wooden kitchen table and plugged in an extension cord to a free outlet on my kitchen counter. I moved from the couch to one of my chairs and Erin began to give me a blow-out, a fancy term for someone else blow drying your hair and making it look way better than you ever could make it look yourself.
Erin works for Glamsquad, a new startup in New York City that lets you schedule blow-out appointments, and they offered me the opportunity to try their service out, free of charge.
Glamsquad was founded when CEO & co-founder Victoria Eisner couldn't get a blow-out appointment on New Year's Eve one year. Everything else she had for the evening was on-demand. She had rented her dress from Rent The Runway and she was using Uber to get to her event. But she couldn't find a service that would bring the beauty styling to her.
"I wished that beauty services could come to me at the touch of a button just like a car or my dinner," she explained to Business Insider.
So she did some research and realized a business like Glamsquad would be filling a major void.
This is how it works. You log into the app and make a profile, plugging in your credit card. Similar to Uber, you tap the date and time you need a stylist and then you get a confirmation email. It's that easy!
While you wait, you can pick from any suggested style they provide on the app:
Glamsquad
Or you can show them a photo of what you want when your stylist arrives.
I asked for a Kate Middleton meets Khloe Kardashian look, and in less than one episode of Scandal, Erin transformed my long hair from this:
To this!
By 5:50pm, Erin was packing up and heading out the door and I knew I'd never go to a salon to get my hair blown out again.
You don't have to leave your house or your office.
Yeah, they'll come to your office. I don't really know how this works. I assume this is for people who sit in offices that have doors, as I don't see how getting a blow-out in an open floor plan would help you keep your job, but just knowing the option is there makes me feel like anything is possible.
A blow-out takes about 45 minutes, but when you have to go somewhere to get it done, you could be blocking an hour and a half out of your day, depending on how long it takes to get to your salon and if they're running on schedule.
If the weather is crappy, you're definitely not going to want to brave the elements to get your hair done, only to risk it being ruined when you walk outside the salon later.
You can make an appointment at the very last minute.
Every try getting a same-day Drybar appointment? Ever succeed? I thought so. With Glamsquad you can open the app at 4pm, schedule your appointment with a few clicks, and someone can be there by 5pm. Perfect if you have a date, a job interview, or just feel like treating yourself.
It's $50, and you pay with a credit card through the app. Money never changes hands.
I am in the 8-weddings-a-summer phase of my life, and I've shelled out as much as $85 to go to a salon to get my hair done. Let me tell you, it has never looked half as good as it did during my Glamsquad experience.
I can't afford to do this each and every time I have an event to go to, but for special occasions or last minute binds, I would absolutely use it. Plus, it's $40 at Drybar for a blow-out, but I can't go to Dry Bar barefoot or in my pajamas, can I?
I felt really great when I went out that night. So great, in fact, that I am going to actually rearrange my budget so I can afford to use Glamsquad every once in awhile.
My guy friends didn't quite understand the concept ("They just...dry your hair?") but my girlfriends totally got it. Your hair never looks as good when you do it yourself. I was receiving compliments left and right at my friend's birthday party that evening.
Yes, I can dry my own hair! I've probably spent the equivalent of two full years of my life blow drying my hair. But after using Glamsquad I realized I'd rather treat myself to a blow-out than treat myself to a cab ride or a Seamless dinner.
While this new startup definitely falls into the category of "things I don't necessarily need" it also simultaneously soars to the top of my "things I really want" list, and I'd be willing to not indulge in other things to make room for a blow-out or two each month.
The app is currently available for the iPhone and while it may expand to other cities eventually, it's only in New York City right now.
You can learn more by visiting their website.