We’re going to let you into a little secret.
We’ve discovered an amazing hair salon nestled in Dubai’s Motor City. The is a premier blow dry bar and salon that specializes in all manner of styling services for the hair as well as cuts, colour, treatments and a selection of beauty services all curated to ensure that you look and feel your very best.
Now the long, dry Summer is coming to an end it’s time to start thinking about giving your hair some much-needed TLC. We visited the BdB Blodrybar to get some expert advice on what to do with the tired, brittle and parched locks that were making our lives a misery.
Tucked away on the first floor of the Apex Building in Motor City, we’re instantly surprised when entering the BdB Blodrybar; the salon is sleek, modern and stylishly feminine and can easily rival any of the bigger, more established salons in Jumeirah. With light wood floors and glossy, white leather furnishings topped off with stark yellow accents, the BdB Blodrybar is a fabulously airy space, perfect for a few stolen hours of pampering.
We sat down with Anna, the head colourist here, for a chat about exactly what was wrong with our hair and how we can transform it into beautifully bouncy Gigi Hadid style locks.
European Anna is extremely knowledgeable when it comes to colour and will happily chat through all elements of the colouring process as well as offering specific recommendations on what would best suit you dependent on your skin tone, eye colour and natural hair colour.
Our naturally dark blonde hair has been subject to years of treatment from bleaching to lowlights as well as being washed in the harsh UAE water and subjected to the blazing sunlight. Anna does not scold, instead patiently listening to our concerns and offers expert advice on what to do with the distressed hair in question.
Her suggestion is that we put on a dark blonde root colour with ash undertones for the base, a shade similar to our natural hair, to break up the difference between natural and the old colour that is already on the hair. Our mutual objective was to renew the blonde, creating a more elegant and less brash look than the slightly off yellow/orange colour we were currently sporting. We would then look to break the colour with balayage instead of the traditional method of highlights and lowlights that we had normally favoured.
Balayage and Ombre is having somewhat of a moment over recent years, with many celebrities fashioning the trend and the BdB Blodrybar citing it as one of their most popular colouring requests. Balayage is actually a technique for highlighting hair in which the dye is painted on in such a way as to create a graduated, natural-looking effect. Balayage is in fact, safer for the hair than traditional highlights as no foils or heat are needed. It can also, be adapted to each particular person creating a totally unique effect.
Anna informs me that the colour she is applying to our hair is mixed with Olaplex or “insurance for our hair”. Olaplex is to put simply, a miracle worker. The brainchild of two of the world’s leading PHD’s in materials and chemistry, this single ingredient is free of silicone and oils and links broken bonds in the hair during and after chemical services, including colouring, therefore making the hair stronger and smoother than they were before, all through its powerful internal conditioning. Olaplex Bond Multiplier No.1 was added to the colour and lightener that was being applied to our hair which was to be followed by Bond Perfector No.2 after the colour was rinsed out. We were also informed that for optimum results it would be best to visit the BdB Blodrybar once in between colouring appointments purely for a Olaplex conditioning treatment.
The great thing about Balayage is that it means a lot less time in the chair than highlights and less processing time. Within an hour start to finish, we were whisked into the washing area where the walls are laden with black and white prints of Hollywood icons that leaves you drifting off into a daydream of Brigit Bardot hair as your tresses are cleansed, massaged and conditioned back into shape.
The colour, which had initially seemed quite dark and in stark contrast to the end desired result, was actually clearly a very soft, buttery shade of blonde which was visible even before it had been dried.
Now, being predominately a blow dry bar by nature, a professional blow out is exactly the finishing touch that your restyle needs. The BdB Blodrybar offers 5 signature blowouts as well as a whole range of styles on its extensive menu. We, having being inspired by big Los Angeles locks, opted for the ‘On The Rocks’ style with lots of curls and bounce to give us that ‘just-left-the-salon’ swish.
Anna and another blow dry guru took to our newly coloured locks with vigour, each drying and curling it to within an inch of its life. The colour was starting to become more noticeable, with the balayage technique having injected a new lease of life into the hair, appearing more natural and a delicate mix of blonde and caramel shades shone through.
The result? True Hollwyood worthy hair.
Book your colour and blow dry at the UAE’s hottest Blow Dry Bar by visiting www.blodrybardxb.com or emailing info@blodrybardxb.com
+971 (0) 4 447 3826
108, Apex Atrium, Motor City, Dubai
The Insider UAE 