Blow-dry bar open for business

At Shag Beauty Bar, it’s hairstyling, talk therapy and beauty treatment all in the span of one 35-minute appointment.
Heather Pacheco, 32, opened the doors of her business Nov. 7 and held the ribbon cutting ceremony on Sunday to commemorate officially moving into the Bertolone Building at 7433 Monterey St.
Pacheco was the winner of Shark Tank Gilroy in June and walked away with a $50,000 prize – provided by the Gilroy Downtown Business Association – after beating 12 other contestants in a competition aimed at getting a new business into one of Gilroy’s more than 20 vacant downtown properties. The premise behind her “blow-dry bar” plan is simple: no colors, no cuts – just a shampoo, blow-out and styling.
The new beauty bar is located across the street from Station 55 Bar & Grill, less than a minute walk from Shag Salon, the haircut and color salon Pacheco co-owns along with her mother and sister.
“I love the new space. I love the location. I love that I can walk back and forth between the two spaces,” Pacheco said.
Blow-dry bars are enjoying a renaissance, explained Pacheco, as women take a retro approach to their beauty regimen. The process – once highly popular and common in the ’50s and ’60s – features a hair wash with salon-quality shampoo and conditioner, blow-drying and styling. LAist.com describes blow-dry bars as “blow-on-the-go salons” that are “currently the best trend in affordable luxury with new ones popping up in Los Angeles daily.”
The beauty bar isn’t limited to hairstyling. Stylists do waxing (eyebrow shaping is $15), eyelash extension application (which involves gluing additional lashes to existing hairs, $175 and up) and makeup tutorials and application.
As for the hairstyles, the array of choices are named after wines.
“We wanted to make it fun. We’re a wine region,” said Pacheco, who modeled the hairstyle menu after Drybar, a Santana Row blow-dry bar where the hairstyles are named after cocktails. “I knew that our guests would appreciate that more than cocktails.”
Just yesterday, Pacheco decided to transform the back of the building into a kids blow-dry bar that includes mirrors, makeup and all the necessary styling apparatuses necessary to transform a preteen into a glamorous young lady.
One of Pacheco’s goals is to make the service quick. While moms in a normal salon might have to wait to fit a walk-in hair styling appointment around the more time consuming hair coloring and treatment appointments, here they can walk right in, receive quality hair styling and leave – all in the span of 35 minutes.
“We’re like their therapists,” said Pacheco, who says clients often come in as guests and leave as family. “We’re the ones that they tell their problems to. It is a place where they can come and rant.”
Pacheco loves watching clients come in upset and tired and leave with hairdos that make then feel clean, refreshed and beautiful.
“They leave feeling gorgeous. There are not many jobs where you can transform someone within 35 minutes,” said Pacheco. “It’s pretty awesome.”
Location: 7433 Monterey St., Suite 102
Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday – Friday; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
Phone: (408) 767-2400
• Evening bachelorette, girls night out or birthday parties available by appointment
Menu offerings
The wine bar-themed list of hair styles (all styles include a scalp massage, shampoo, and blow out before the styling):
-Spritzer: Beach waves, $40
-Chardonnay: Sleek and smooth, $40
-Zin: Short and sleek (styling for short hair), $40
-Merlot: Smooth hair with a little bit of body at the top, $40
-Reserve: Up-dos, hair is swept up and styled, $85
-Belini (girls 10 and younger): Scalp massage, shampoo, blow out and style of choice, $25