Blow dry bars have been slowly creeping into more and more cities and I have been dying to give one a shot.

Parlor Blow Dry Bar opened up recently in Raleigh (specifically near Cameron Village) and invited my friend and I to come in for a complimentary blow out. Naturally I jumped at the opportunity and am happy to share my experience with you!

Given my experience working in a salon, I have high expectations when I walk into one. I remember the state board regulations on cleanliness and alway look meticulously around places to see how clean or dirty they are.

Parlor is a shining beacon of a clean, fresh blow dry bar. Sure, it may be a little bit easier to keep clean given that they don’t do haircuts or color, but there is still hair flying everywhere from being blown dry and they are able to keep it very clean!

Personally, I love the design aesthetic too. Anything crisp, white, modern and clean is right up my alley. The entire front of the salon is windows, so there is plenty of natural light too!

Anyway, let’s get into the good stuff.

I asked my friend Iana (pronounced ‘yen-ah’) to join me for the blow out. She has a son a few months younger than David, so we left the boys with our husbands while we shot over to Parlor, with Starbucks in hand.

Iana often vents to me about how her hair won’t hold curl and I was hoping she’d go for something a little curly at Parlor. After talking through the looks, she and Kelly decided on the Big and Full.

Meanwhile I was talking Ashley’s ear off about all the Bumble products, and what she was using on me, as she gave me the Signature blow out.

camera strap is from Fotostrap (love it an unhealthy amount.) 

Iana’s hair looked so beautiful when Kelly finished! And the curls looked soft but like they would hold all day too. I was thrilled with my blow out as well! My hair was bouncy and smooth, and it was a nice change up from my typical soft curls.

As you can see behind us, Parlor was busy! It didn’t feel crowded in there one bit, but I was not surprised to see the salon bustling at 9:00am on a Saturday.

So would I recommend Parlor? Absolutely. My advice, to make the most of your blow out, is to have a thorough consultation with your stylist. If you want it to last a few days, perhaps go light on the styling products used. If you simply need your hair done for an event or evening out, let the stylists do their thing!

Parlor was kind enough to offer 10% off any service if you are a first-timer at the salon during weekdays only if you mention this post/that you heard about it from my blog! (offer good from today-Feb 29th. Mon-Fri only, first time guests only.)

Huge thanks for Parlor for the blow outs, and a lovely experience!