DreamDry – Columbus Circle

I have been a customer of Dream Dry since this location opened and have always had a nice/​good experience… most times near perfect however, my last trip to Dream Dry yesterday afternoon was incredible. Mahogany was my stylist and did such an amazing job with my very curly and uncooperative hair that I am getting stopped on the street about it even a day later… I normally do the Farrah or the Stevie but it was done so well and in such a short time (she washed and dried my hair within 30 minutes!!) I was compelled to write a review… like I said always a good experience here but this was an amazing experience! thank you Dream Dry and a special thanks to Mahogany!

I went to get a blowout/​style last week for an event I had after work. It was down the block from my work so it was convenient. The service called for a wash, a head massage, and a blowout style. I booked my appointment with Karen but when I got their I got someone else instead (can’t remember her name). While I don’t have experience with Karen I think you should get whoever you booked with (and no explanation was given so beware of that). The wash was fine, didn’t receive a head massage, and the style was fine. I told the girly hair is hard to hold a curl but she reassured me the curling iron would do its job. My hair was finished around 1:30pm…by 4pm the style was mostly faded. By the time of the event at 6:30pm my hair was straight and kind of frizzy. It was definitely not worth what I paid for the service (would’ve been if the style lasted).

My stylist was nice and my hair turned out fine, but I was a little disappointed in my experience here. The receptionists were not very friendly and I had to wait 10 minutes past my scheduled appointment time (I had a wedding to go to in ~2 hours). My hair did not really look like the picture in the book — I chose a braid/​waves combination — and my stylist stated that this particular look was difficult. I sympathize, but if it’s hard to do, maybe it shouldn’t be offered?

Truly disappointed in my experience at DreamDry. I got a blowout (the Juliette) a week and a half ago. So my hair is normally stick straight, and does not hold curls well. However, the style I wanted was the romantic waves with a waterfall braid. I even specifically told my stylist that my hair does not hold curls well and asked her to try and make the curls last.
So they turned out fine immediately after the blowout. But then I got my makeup done, and my event was 2 hours after I got my hair done, and all the waves were GONE. As you can see in the picture below my hair just looked awful– a weird middle ground between slightly wave-​y or crinkly but not yet straight. I was actually embarrassed at how it looked.
But I wasn’t even too disappointed that night because I thought, OK, well maybe my hair just really can’t hold curls. Come yesterday I decided to try DryBar on the UWS. And man, only by comparison did I realize how inadequate the stylists at DreamDry are. My hair stylist at DryBar was not only able to give me great waves, but waves that lasted me through the night (even when I was at an event at Marquee all night, dancing, and sweating).
Let this review be a warning– if you want a style that lasts and do not want to waste your money, DO NOT GO TO DREAM DRY!

I love everything about this place. Everything from the décor to the service. I’ve been here multiple times and every time I am so happy with the results. My favorite was when I had my hair done for my birthday back in December 2015. The stylist name was Sarah (originally from LA) and she was just amazing. Super friendly and very talented. I showed her a picture of how I wanted my hair curled and she made it look exactly like it. This review is a bit overdue, but I’m glad I remembered to post about it. Also, I love the fact that it’s owned by Rachel Zoe because she is a fashion icon. :)

I went to dream dry a few days ago, as a friend told me about it and I was interested in their styling options which seemed to have more choices compared to my usual Drybar spot.
I was greeted and offered coffee, tea or water. I said I would take coffee but they never came back with any beverage. Online I had booked an appointment with Mary, but my stylist that night was Ebony. I had never been and had no real preference — but I did not like the change. If I wanted a specific stylist in the future I would hope that would be honored or that I would at least be informed of a change.
However, I must say Ebony was very sweet and did a great job. Also she offered me champagne and kept the glass full. I got the Juliette. My waves were arguably the best I have had. The braid was ok, I didn’t end up looking how I expected. Not worth the extra money in my opinion. The space was very large and just seemed more upscale and less friendly. It was rather quiet and cold. I would go back again when I really want that edgy wave — but for now I think I will stick to Drybar.

I saw Chelsea today. She really did a fantastic job. I asked for the «Stevie» and I loved the result. I recommend her.

I went to DreamDry last weekend to have my hair blown out and curled before a charity gala I was assisting with. I have not been to a blow-​dry bar before but I wanted something a little nicer than my usual straight, and down. I had an appointment and was brought in after a couple of minutes. The receptionist asked me upon arrival if I wanted coffee or water and I requested coffee but that never seemed to appear. Totally minor thing and not something that would affect me returning or not but should be noted.
I asked my stylist for simple curls and let her know my hair is straight and I generally don’t do much to it. She dried my hair and put in fairly tight curls stating that they would drop by the time of my event. (I looked a little shirley temple ish when leaving but I knew that they would drop a bit) I was in and out in 45 minutes. The stylist was correct and they came down but unfortunately more than I would have liked. About halfway through the event I only had about 1 – 2 curls remaining. I know part of that is my hair but it was disappointing having spent nearly $ 50 on it. I’d consider going back again for perhaps an updo but I don’t think it’s worth my while to go in for a blowout when it doesn’t last for my hair.

Elena was amazing! Highly recommend the place and her for when you stop by for a blow out!

Loved Jerry he is a great stylist amd did a great great job. Did exactly what I asked andI will definitely be returning.

Went in early for a blow out, scheduled it with Jeffery, I was extremely please with the end result. My hair looked beautiful all day.
Thanx Jeffery, I will see soon.

I’ve gone to DreamDry twice, both with a Gilt City Deal ($ 31/​each) and after each time, I’ve had a wonderful experience and walked out with gorgeous hair. The hair salon is decorated beautifully (the company was started by Rachel Zoe, are you surprised?). Make sure to schedule your appointment ahead of time, either online or via phone, because the appointments disappear fast! I had some issues with the website so I called in. Each appointment is 45 minutes long and they have impressive hours (get your hair done before or after work!).
My first stylist was Mayra and my second stylist was Jerry. Both were very professional, friendly, and talented. They started off the appointment with asking me what I was looking for, then washed my hair, and styled my hair to what I asked. Because of their excellent service, I hope to make another appointment soon!
Although I had a $ 10 voucher to spend on hair products, I was never pressured to buy anything. I asked for recommendations and walked out each time with a Kerastase product. Before you leave, make sure you tip your hair stylist in the black envelopes that they leave at the front desk.
If you’re interested in DreamDry but are hindered by the price tag, keep your eye out for future promotions on Gilt City and sign up for their newsletters!

Great blowout, beautiful (and talented) stylists, champagne and Oribe. Not sure how it could get any better.
I love this place. It’s such a nice way to start the morning or the weekend and my blowouts always last a few days (dry shampoo!!)
Also try the Fusio-​Dose — I have long fine hair that has been bleached to a level 10 and I couldn’t even shampoo it without it knotting but after about 3 treatments I can see a huge difference and way less breakage. LOVE LOVE LOVE.

I received a great blowout last Friday and was even able to start early which is a nice perk so 5 stars to my stylist! However, my issue with the salon is that I wasn’t aware of the cash only tipping policy until I walked in and saw a sign on the counter (I also didn’t see it on their website when I booked). Unfortunately, this made for a bit of an awkward exchange at the desk, after which I had to run to a nearby ATM in the cold in order to get cash to tip. If I had known ahead of time, I would have stopped there BEFORE I went and avoided the awkwardness.

Three strikes, and it’s time to break up. I’ve been to the West 57^th Street DreamDry now five or six times, and while a few of those times, the end result was decent, it’s just not worth the hassle (or the price).
Generally, my standing issue is that no matter how many times I ask, I can’t get a stylist to use sufficient hairspray. While I realize they don’t want their work to end up crispy-​crunchy, each time I promise my hair will not hold a curl without it, and each time, they ignore my plea. I live four blocks south, and every appointment I’ve made, I needed to build in time to go back *home* in between wherever I am going (instead of hopping on the subway at Columbus Circle, inches away) to re-​curl a few sections and spray/​lock in the style — all the while begging the wind to stop blowing for that five minute walk. After sitting for nearly an hour and paying $ 55 after tip, that’s ridiculous.
Being offered a drink is hit or miss, and sometimes I need to ask for one once I’ve been washed and seated. Annoying, but fine.
Lastly, I’ve had the odd experience of repeatedly having my bangs left completely out of the picture. My hair is stick-​straight, so generally, they don’t take much work. But, if they aren’t at least round-​brushed with the heat from a dryer or hit with a quick curling iron, it looks like Edward Scissorhands is taking a nap on my forehead. How do I have to keep begging for them not to be overlooked, and then de facto glued flat to my skull during the final swoosh of hairspray?
These minor inconveniences are generally passable in favor of what is usually the overall-​nice experience of having your hair done. The paper cuts turned into a full burn, however, two weeks or so before Christmas. I asked for the Rae, having selected my desired style well in advance of my (early) arrival. My stylist was standing, chatting in the salon as my appointment was now 5 minutes, and then 10 minutes overdue (when I booked, I only had a «Stylist TBD» in the app notification, so didn’t know who I was waiting for). I was certain my stylist introduced herself as Mary, though my dossier of past appointments says it was Monica — so I’m not sure if this was an accidental swap in the computer entry or what, but I’m still pretty sure it was Mary.
In any case, the stylist didn’t know what style the «Rae» is, and asked me to remind her which it was. I described the side braid, crossing to the back of the head with loose curls on the other side — still didn’t ring a bell for her (guys! there aren’t that many menu options!), so she asked me to show it to her. My phone had no service inside the salon, so after a few minutes of my awkwardly wasting time trying to pull it up, she finally booted up the iPad sitting on the desk nearby. None of this would have been such a big problem if she didn’t seem so profoundly unhappy with my existence this evening. I don’t need chatter (and in fact prefer not to make small talk the whole time), but the stylist was downright unpleasant, and acting as though my appointment was such an inconvenience to her day. Further, she restarted the braid a solid 10 times, and when I was finally visibly vexed, she just said «This isn’t working.» The next round, it seemed to work just fine, but by now we were just about out of time. She left my straight bangs spiky, flat, untouched, and awkward-​looking (I asked that she just roll a brush under them with the dryer or use the curling iron, but instead just pushed them over to one side and used .0001 oz of hairspray — it looked almost comical!), and did a miserably flat job on the rest of my «curls.» While this time, I packed mini-​hairspray with me so I could be on my way quickly afterward, yet again, I had to go home and re-​work the damn style.
I was almost more surprised she’d be willing to let me walk out the way I looked, attaching her name to it! Her face was pure evidence that she wasn’t proud of the result, either, but just wanted to get me out of the chair. What a fantastically miserable experience, but perhaps I should be grateful it’s the final nail in the coffin between us. Like mediocre boyfriends that aren’t actively mean to you, sometimes you just hope for one explosive event to get you out of the cycle of disappointment.

I was there for a salon apprentise and the service was 100% from front desk to the student and teacher. Will be back !
Told ya all be back !! Today i saw MARY shes a true DOLL. super friendly and understood my hair and what i wanted to expect, Mary gave me suggestions while providing me with the best quickest blow out:)

5 stars for Abby!!! 3 stars for the salon.
Abby is a pro! A pro is someone who can blow out my curly, long hair, with NO product and no flat irons and make it look awesome!!! This morning it was even better.
My daughter had Core and she also did an amazing job!!!
I came in because I had seen Rachel Zoe on the show when it was being built. The salon itself is pretty bare bones. Unimpressed.
But Abby and Core… very impressed.

I gave these guys 2 tries but each experience was deflated almost immediately after walking out of the door.
It seems that the stylists are just not that good– and I would think that after doing the same hairstyles for the 5 or 6 styles in the book you’d master them all.
On my second visit I noticed a woman made the stylist completely re-​do her hair (wash and blowdry all over again).
I can’t beat the convenience of booking an appointment/​price/​location and getting all that I need from their App but considering blow dry is their specialty they are not the best.
Bummer.

Being that I am very into beauty and can do my own hair and makeup nicely, I just need to accept the fact that no one will ever do my hair like I like and just stop wasting my money.
I had high hopes for this place but came out simply disappointed. I asked for the «Veronica» and sort of got that… the back was very pretty but the top looked like a helmet and was literally glued to my head with hair spray… I asked for it to be soft and not uniformed and stiff… wasn’t flattering to my round face at all and the amount of hairspray used was crazy, I had A TON of white flakes I had to try and get off, not a cute look.
What was really disappointing was that every single curl and wave was gone an hour and change later, it didn’t even make it to the event which was 3 hours after my appt time. I was super bummed I wasted 40 plus 10 dollar tip for NOTHING. I had to recurl the whole thing which defeated the purpose of even getting my hair done to save me time. SIGGHHHHH.
I would not go back based on personal preference.

The DreamDry salon is pretty ritzy, with chandeliers and offers of champagne as you’re styled. It’s quite the pampering! I was able to book my appointment online and booked the blow out with conditioning masque.(ProTip: Call to book your appointment. The default is 50 minutes and they are big on making sure they stay on schedule. If you’re natural with a lot of hair, you will want to book at least 2 hours. No extra charge for extra time but it’s courteous to the stylist and other customers.) I wanted to see how well she would do my hair from start to finish, but if you’re picky about products and detangling techniques, you can wash your own hair at home and come with it dry, detangled and ready to be blown out for half the price. Not a bad option, I’ll probably do this from now on to retain some control.
My stylist was Rosie, who is an adorable young woman from NY and absolutely hilarious. One thing I noticed, she was receptive to me asking questions about products and willing to use my own products upon request. I let her do her thing though so I can get the full feel and it was fine, but next time I’ll definitely use my own stuff. She was also really personal and talked a lot about getting to know my hair. My hair was a new beast for her, being thick long and extra kinky in the back.
All things considering, she did my hair pretty quickly. I could tell she was struggling with detangling at first which ate up a lot of her time, but she soon figured it out and the process went a lot easier. My friend, who went the next day, said Rosie went home after having me in her chair and learned the tension method, and thus her detangling game went way up. This really moved me because I wasn’t crazy about her detangling, feeling that it was probably doing some damage but clearly she felt the same way and is continually working to improve her craft. She even purchased a Denman!
I would definitely recommend Rosie at DreamDry if you need to straighten your hair, they even style for free. The service is $ 40 for a blowout, $ 60 with deep condition, or $ 30 for the Express Style Dry, if you just want your hair straightened, no wash.