Business blowdrys: Forget golf, real deals are now made in the salon
Forget making deals on the golf course, Anna Moloney has been WFH: working from hairdresser. Welcome to the strange new world of the blowdry business meeting
“Do you do this a lot?” I asked, locks swishing as I sauntered out of the hairdressers with a newly-made work contact. She wasn’t on the books at the hairdressers, nor did she work within the beauty/hairdressing/lifestyle sector. She’d invited me for a blowdry as “something a little different” to getting a coffee. I have very hard to tame hair, and few qualms about being bought, so it was an easy yes.
I’m not the only one. WFH (working from hairdressers) is, it turns out, a thing. That’s not just sending a few Slack messages with your foils in, but actual networking or business meetings taking place in the salon.
A quick survey among my white-collared female friends revealed a spike in invitations for this kind of shenanigans, with blowdrys, manicures and even a UK bank-hosted spa networking experience among the bait. Testimonials ranged from unabashed enthusiasm (“I will take whatever freebie I can get”) to regret (“not worth the small talk”), but most had accepted at least one strange networking invitation, even if only out of curiosity.
Hairdressers themselves have confirmed the trend. Blowdry bar chain Duck and Dry said their salons were increasingly being used for business purposes, with their London spaces now specifically catering to such ventures with large tables to facilitate meetings, the option to specify joint appointments and earlybird bookings for those wanting breakfast meets. Celebrity hairstylist Samantha Cusick, who also owns a chain of salons, similarly said her clients often used their appointments as a chance to catch up with contacts. “It creates an environment where conversations flow naturally,” she explained.
For those with offices near one of Cusick’s salons (Notting Hill, Fitzrovia and the City), she even offers a corporate discount, which may also offer a convenient way to keep blowdrys within expense budgets.
So what to think of it all? In a world where corporate lore states that real deals are done on the golf course, not the boardroom, could business blowdrys be the feminist correction many of us have yearned for? Unlikely. But could they offer some fun on the path to gender equality in the workplace, all on the clock and dime of The Man? That I was willing to find out.
I took up my own invitation for a “blowdry catchup” (though to be clear, I had never met this person before) with initial exhilaration, but as the event loomed closer, I grew apprehensive. What was the purpose of this meeting? Why exactly were we doing it at the hairdressers? Can you look professional with wet hair? Would the hairdressers think we were strange for holding a meeting while getting our hair done? Would I be able to ask for a quick fringe trim at the same time or would that be taking advantage? It felt rather like I was setting out to cosplay what one thinks a “powerful woman in business” might do, rather than what they actually do.
When I got there, however, it became clear my counterpart had no such concerns. She greeted me warmly at the door, already caped and ready for the chair. I donned my own gown, we exchanged pleasantries, and then followed the hairdressers, who, unaware of the strange corporate gymnastics we were doing, and clearly from a different breed of salons to those used to hosting the blowdry meeting, sat us blissfully apart. We came together briefly at the sinks, but the soundscape of the salon – the whshhhh, raaaaaaaa, hrmmmmmm, “got any nice holiday plans?” – rendered even an attempt at small talk useless. Instead, we sat peacefully in parallel.
Scalps scrubbed, we floated back happily to our separate chairs. Occasionally, I glimpsed her far away, through mirrors of mirrors. Between the whirr of the hairdryer and my stylist asking if I’d prefer big sexy waves or just a subtle bend, I sometimes caught snatches of her conversing with her own hairdresser, who she was happily telling all about her line of work. I wondered whether this exercise might work better if we were to do each others’ hair. But that’s by the by; it was all, for a work meeting, an absolute pleasure. Sign me up for another.
Read more like this in City AM The Magazine’s Spring edition