Alli Webb - Drybar Guide to Good Hair for All: How to Get the Perfect Blowout at Home

EDITOR: Rebecca Kaplan

DESIGNER: Jenny Kraemer

ART DIRECTOR: Andrea Rell

PRODUCTION MANAGER: Denise LaCongo

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015956325

ISBN: 978-1-4197-2106-9
eISBN: 978-1-61312-988-3

Text copyright 2016 Alli Webb/Drybar Holdings LLC

All photos Max Wagner unless otherwise noted:
Cameron Webb: front cover, Step-by-Step photography,
Clark Dugger:
Charley Star:
Kimberly Genevieve:
Jamie Chung:
Jeff Sarpa: All Drybar Product Images

Published in 2016 by Abrams Image, an imprint of ABRAMS. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.

Abrams Image books are available at special discounts when purchased in quantity for premiums and promotions as well as fundraising or educational use. Special editions can also be created to specification. For details, contact specialsales@abramsbooks.com or the address below.

My mom ...

absolutely adored reading and spent a lifetime trying to get me to fall in love with books. However, hair was always my passion, and while my mom didnt love it the way I did, she happily blew out my curly hair all the time. As a young girl, I was so lucky to have such a supportive mother who always encouraged me to follow my dreams.

Ill never forget how excited she was when she learned her very own daughter was writing a book. While I cant share this book with her, I can dedicate it to her. So here goes:

Mom, wherever you are, I thank you and I love you. I would not be the woman I am today without your unwavering love and patience. This book is my gift to you.

Rozi Landau 10/16/19501/29/2016. Alli & Rozi 1984 Hollywood, FL

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION
A Girl and Her Blow-Dryer: The Alli Webb Story

SECTION 1
Prep School: Everything You Need to Know about Your Hair (IMHO)

SECTION 2
Bag of Tricks: The Tools Youll Need for Making Your Own Drybar Magic

SECTION 3
Hey, Good Lookin: Drybars Signature Styles

The Straight Up
Straight with a Little Bit of Body

The Manhattan
Sleek and Smooth

The Cosmo
Lots of Loose Curls

The Mai Tai
Messy, Beachy Hair

The Cosmo-Tai
A Little Cosmo, a Little Mai Tai

The Dirty Martini
Tousled and Textured

The Southern Comfort
Big Hair, Lots of Volume

SECTION 4
Beyond the Blowout: Other Styles to Know and Love

The Perfect Pony
To the Gym and Back

The Fun Bun
Not Just for Bad Hair Days

The Barmaid Braid
AKA What Bangs?

SECTION 5
After Party: Making Your Look Last

The Dry Tai
AKA The Mai Tai in a Minute

The Straighter Up
Second-Day Hair, Served Neat

SECTION 6
Q & A Session (Questions & Alli)

INTRODUCTION

A GIRL AND HER BLOW-DRYER: THE ALLI WEBB STORY

Alli, 1988 Boca Raton, FL

Yep, thats me. Back then, I was Alli, the girl with the crazy, impossible, unruly, super-duper, totally uncool curly hair.

At least, thats how I felt.

I know, I know. It might not look that bananas to you. It just looks like hair. But trust me, waking up with a wild nest on top of your head in a world where supermodels like Christie Brinkley and Cindy Crawford were the hair idols of the day was enough to make anyone want to stay in bed. Some nights, I would struggle for hours before bed. If I blew out my hair, then slept on it, it would surely have to be less frizzy when I woke up, right? Wrong. Most mornings before school, I would lock myself in the bathroom with brush and blow-dryer until my brother banged on the door, yelling for me to get out. Some days, my hair semi-cooperated before I left the house. Other days, I threw it in a bun. Most dayseven when I had a really cute outfit on!I felt as if my pursuit of having even one good hair day was a complete and utter lost cause.

How did those shampoo-commercial girls get that freaking hair? It was a conundrum to me. Seriously. Bouncy hair became one of lifes great mysteriessomething only the secret society of professional hairdressers knew about. I tried every product I could get my hands on and experimented with every brush under the sun. I washed my hair in the morning and pulled it into taut braids to get it to de-frizz. I deep-conditioned it at night and slept on it in hopes this would help calm it down. I listened to old wives tales, clipped tips out of magazines, and even ironed my hair with an actual iron, the kind used for clothes.

As I got older, I started going to the beauty parlor with my mom (who passed down her obsession with beauty and being perfectly put together at all times) when she got her hair, nails, and toes done. A giant lightbulb, or, in my case, a bright yellow blow-dryer, went on: If I was going to figure out how to do my own hair, I was going to need to get a job at a salon. I started as a receptionist at the salon at the mall a few weeks latershout-out to Town Center for all my fellow Boca Raton ladies. My hair never looked better. One of the perks (the ultimate perk!) was that the stylists there would blow out my hair all the time. Hello! Best. Job. Ever. Every shift, I answered the phones, booked appointments, swept the floors, and asked (OK, stalked) the stylists for their secrets on what to do with my mop. I studied, I practiced, and I tried every technique they showed me. After living with wild and unruly hair all my life, I finally started to feel as though I was on the brink of cracking the pretty-hair code.

From that moment on, I knew I wanted to pursue my dream of becoming a hairstylist. It took me a few years, but after a slew of other jobs (and a lot of encouragement from my brother, and now business partner, Michael Landau), I eventually followed my heart and enrolled in beauty school in Boca. There I had the great honor of assisting John Peters, who taught me not only so much about hair but also how to really connect with clients and how to run a successful salon. With a solid foundation and my cosmetology certification in hand, I headed for New York City. I landed a job at John Sahags salonthe only salon where I wanted to work because the man himself was beyond famous for his dry styling. There I began assisting some of the most respected hairstylists in the industry. I soaked up every tip and technique I could and even started coming up with some of my own. It seemed as if everyone had a new tool, a new style, and a new way to get the job done (after twenty years of styling hair, Im still picking up new tricks from the stylists at Drybar). I wanted to break the art of a good blowout down to a science so I could getand givethe perfect blowout every time.