Needham-Based Blow-Dry Lounge Opens in Wellesley

A half-hour of relaxation that makes you look good--this is what the blow-dry lounge opening in Wellesley this week hopes to offer. 

Headquartered in Needham, Be Styled opens for business, in the next town over, on Friday at 67 Central Street. The blow-dry lounge, differs from a traditional hair salon in that there is no cutting or dying of hair. Just a wash and a blow-dry--as well as snacks and romantic comedies. 

Be Styled's Wellesley location is its second, its first opened in Chestnut Hill in April and has earned a lot of great feedback, Penna told Patch. That location also has a 5-star review on Yelp, with a handful of reviews at the time of writing. 

The Needham-based company aims to open in Lynnfield at the end of September, and another location in Knoxville Tennessee come November. 

Or, as Nick Penna, founder & creative director of Be Styled put it, "We offer one service, focus on that one service, and we kill it. At Be Styled, we do one thing: the perfect blow dry."

The Wellesley salon itself extends far into the back of the storefront area, floor-to-ceiling mirrors stand behind each of the chairs, with smaller mirrors in front of each stylist. The walls are all white, accented with light blues. Because the salon isn't working with chemical dyes, Penna says, they can use lighter colors on the walls.

Patch visited the salon on training day, the chairs were full of models and technicians practicing for their first day on Friday. 

When clients come in for a treatment, they start off with a wash and a scalp massage, and are then handed a drink (including options like champagne, sparkling water), and offered snacks. Clients can choose from the five styles--including a style of their own design--and then head to the chairs. 

As they sit at a drying station--each one is equipped with an iPad loaded with magazines and other content--the stylist sets about blow-drying their hair. The stylists are taught the European blow-dry technique. The company's director of education trained in the techniques in Rome. 

"It's a dissection of a blow-dry." Penna added. 

He explained that stylists go section-by-section to create the style the customer selected. Each appointment lasts for about 35 to 40 minutes, and costs $35.

Penna's hopes that what he calls the "affordable luxury" of By Styled will bring women the salon once a week, or perhaps even two or three times for blow-dry treatment. 

Penna also owns three Salon Capri locations in the Greater Boston area (Newbury Street in Boston proper, Dedham and Newton), and that some clients at those locations would ask about receiving blow-dry-only services when they came to visit. After trying some blow-dry nights, the idea for Be Styled was born.

"We like to get involved in the community," Penna told Patch. "Not just open a location in the town."

When it opens, Be Styled will partner with Cradles to Crayons. As the non-profit gets “Ready for School” (with an initiative of the same name), through September 18th, residents can stop by the lounge and drop off a piece of new or gently-used clothing (size 4T-18), new sneakers, socks or underwear. They will give you a gift card for a free deep conditioning treatment.

The Wellesley location will open on Friday, and will be open seven days a week. They recommend you book an appointment in advance, although walk-ins are welcome. To book, call them at (781) 992-5500, visit www.bestyled.com or download their Be Styled app for iPhone and Android.

According to a press release from the company, they are celebrating the opening with a free blow-dry for people who make an appointment for Friday, August 9th, or Saturday, August 10th--including a wash and custom blow-dry.