“We’re gonna give you Saturday hair on a Wednesday,” The Hive salon owner Jen Cortez tells me when I sit down in her chair.
This is a good plan. I do believe the higher the hair, the closer to heaven, so I’m all about it. I had to admit, I was drawn in by the salon’s name; it’s my favorite hairdo, after all.
I stopped by The Hive earlier this week because I’d gotten notice they were launching a blowdry menu. I can already hear you: “…like everyone else in town.” Well, maybe. But Cortez tells me they always had blowouts on their menu, and this is just a way of getting the word out. Plus, it’s just part of the suite of offerings at The Hive, not a blowout bar, per se.
The idea is similar, though. Pick from a menu of options, from sleek and straight to high and mighty (I got the Glamazonian, naturally).
Jen is bubbly and darling, as is her sister, and she gave me a long wash, complete with an apple-cider vinegar clarifying treatment. A nice little bonus: a steamy, pepperminty hot-towel treatment on my face while I enjoyed the scalp massage. Loved that add-on.
Then it was back to the chair for the long, luxe round-brush treatment (I find that so relaxing; I can’t be the only one). The result, as you can see, is a spectacular feat of physics.
Here’s the other thing about the Hive: They’re pretty green. I love their approach; they don’t tout a perfectly green label, because, well, hair color is not really so green. But they do take steps to choose ammonia-free formulations, and they carry green products: Intelligent Nutrients and John Masters Organics, which have excellent reputations in the green world and actually perform, too. The blowout is organic: Jen used Intelligent Nutrients Harmonics shampoo and conditioner for the wash, leave-in conditioner, styling gel, and Perfect Hold hairspray. Dry shampoo was by Hair Fix. If you can reduce the impact, why not do it?
Their thrifty/vintage décor is darling, as is their beverage bar, which is stocked with tea, coffee, and water (and cute vintage coffee cups to drink them from).
And, you get set on your way out the door with a little package of goodies to extend your blowdry: biodegradable shower cap, a sample of dry shampoo to keep roots dry, hairpins to tuck your ‘do up at night (“Two things will ruin the shape of your hair: heat and moisture,” she told me). And you can purchase larger kits with smaller-sized portions of the rest of the products they use on your hair so you can try them out for yourself!
Oh, and it’ll only set you back $35—the usual rate in town among blowdry bars. Good price, good stylists, darling atmosphere, organic products. I’m a fan.
