Salon service on-demand is just the latest way the app economy is changing D.C. Blowdry Taxi, a mobile app and web service for getting blowout service wherever you are in the greater D.C. area from an accredited stylist contracted by the company. Blowdry Taxi has about a dozen, mostly full-time stylists on-call for appointments between 6:30 a.m. and 9 p.m. whether booked weeks in advance or within less than an hour of ordering a blowout or any of a rapidly expanding range of hair and other style services.
"It's a blowout bar that comes to you," explained Sona Sut, the founder of Blowdry Taxi.
Sut explained that she came up with the idea for Blowdry Taxi when she found that she had no time to get her hair done between working and taking care of her young child. As her work is running the front desk of Hair Salon Lounge (co-owned by her husband), she already had all the contacts she needed to start the business. A straightforward mobile platform and some marketing later and the company is running strong, with hundreds of clients.
Part of its appeal, according to Sut, is price. A blowout costs between $50 and $60, comparable to a price in a brick-and-mortar salon. Other services include braids and updos as well as makeup services for between $75 and $90. The way it works, the stylists keep half the fee, plus a tip, with the rest going to Blowdry Taxi.
"I really want to make it affordable to everyone," Sut said.
Blowdry Taxi is not the only on-demand style service startup, even just in the D.C. area. Veluxe, recently launched by prominent Washingtonian Susanna Quinn, offers some of the same services, along with things like personal training. There are also several salons that will send stylists out for blowouts at home, but that's as an aspect of their business rather than a platform for theoretically any qualified stylist. There's been some notable clients, including political director of Roll Call before an election night webcast and Fox 5 reporter Sue Palka before winning a Silver Circle Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Mainly though, Sut said its for women who just want to get styled without any hassle.
"It's amazing how much time it can save," Sut said. "It means you can look and feel good even if you're rushed."
