Blast Blowdry

These gals are awesome! It’s my go-​to spot for that amazing blowout!

If I could give zero stars, I would. I came in with a 3:30 appointment for hair and makeup with a friend for prom, we had to be at picture at 6. We thought that we would have enough time, but we were wrong. We walked in and the place was packed. Didn’t get seated with a stylist until 4. The man that straightened my hair fried it to a crisp and then told me he didn’t know how to braid so I had to wait another 30 minutes for another stylist to finish so she could braid my hair. The stylist gave me tight cornrow-​like braids that I had NOT asked for. At 4:45 I sat back down in the waiting room and noticed there were only 2 people doing makeup and an entire waiting room in line. I asked the lady at the front desk if it was going to be possible to be out of there on time or if I should go home and do my own makeup. She assured me that I would be out of there by 5:15. I was seated in the makeup chair at 5:10. The man that did my makeup did NOT listen to me whatsoever. I told him I didn’t want eyeliner, he put eyeliner. I sad part is I was running so late that there was just no time to fix it. After one of the worst «makeovers» I have experienced, I left Blast at 5:45. I looked nothing like I had asked either stylist for and felt very sad. In the car, I rushed to fix my makeup. I wouldn’t even let my mom look at me when I got home before I ran to go fix the mess on my head. I WILL NOT BE USING BLAST EVER AGAIN and I know my friends won’t be either. Blast put a damper on my entire prom. Blo Drybar is much better, and please get your makeup done by a real artist.

A wonderful, unexpected experience in Austin. Kelly is one of the sweetest, most talented stylists around — coming from a NYC girl. It might be a bit of a drive from central Austin but worth the extra time. Low cost, high impact.

Leaving my first review just so I can say this — through and through one of the worst experiences I have ever had.
Blast Blowdry burned me — literally.
Booked a blow out with two friends. Two of us get there, the third is late. Girl at the front is incredibly unfriendly, doesn’t even look up from her computer.
They knew there were THREE of us yet they seat two next to each other and our third arrives and is literally placed as far away from us as she can be. What we thought was going to be a fun gal’s experience was not at all — and we were not even offered champagne or any other beverage. And to boot, our stylists barely spoke to us.
Onto the hair. My friend has very long thick hair and wanted bouncy waves. Her stylist did not even use an iron, just a brush — it fell within thirty minutes and if you saw how thick her hair is you would understand how ridiculous it was that they did not use a wand/​iron/​anything.
For mine I asked for the same thing and an iron was used but get this — my stylist DROPPED IT ON ME and burned me. He did not offer to get anything for the burn and I still paid full price. Oh, and my hair fell within an hour too.
As for the third friend sitting by her lonesome, her hair looked the best out of all of us but she said her stylist was so incredibly rude she felt like she was doing something wrong just by sitting in her chair and seemingly burdening her. Hello — you are in the customer service industry. If you can’t treat customers right you should find another profession.
All in all a colossal waste of money for horrible customer service, extremely sub par results, and a burn on my arm.
No thanks, will not be returning. And neither will any of our friends. We will stick to Blo from now on.

This was my first blowout… I live in Colorado, and traveled to Austin to visit a girlfriend. She made the appointments for us before a night out, and it was so much fun! Lydia was great, she made me look like a princess, and gave me tips to care for my blowout. Everybody else working there was incredibly nice, professional and fun to chat with. Although I’m no blowout expert, I felt the price was very reasonable for the service performed and the time spent, and I would definitely return!

I told the stylist that I was in town for a wedding so it was very important to me that my hair do last all day. Even jokingly (but I was really serious lol) I asked the stylist to use the whole bottle of hair spray on me. Got my hair washed, blow dried, & styled within 35 – 45 min. The stylist was very sweet & easy to talk to. Left the place around 10:45 am with pretty curls but by 3 pm my hair was flat. I could not tell that my hair was done other than the fact that my hair smelled awesome & the ends were curled. I previously had a blow out somewhere else where my pretty curls turned into pretty waves the next day. I was hoping for the same result but instead got straighten hair with only the ends slightly curled. Very disappointed. Complimentary drinks would have made this visit slightly worth it but there were none. My hair is naturally wavy so it can hold hairstyles. I think that the products they use weren’t enough to hold my hair. However, I do wish the stylist would have spent a little longer applying heat to my hair. Maybe that could have made a difference who knows.
Based on my experience, I say it’s best to spend a little more on the hair & sip on mimosas while being pampered somewhere else.

Easily my favorite blow out bar in Central Texas and I’ve tried them all.
They do a round brush set blow out for every client and it gives my hair volume like I’ve never seen.
I also have a ton of long hair and the hair stylists have always been so sweet and patient with my blow outs, even as their arms start to ache.
It’s also locally owned and the price point is lower than some of the «chain» blow out bars. I’m not sure how long that will last, but I’m taking advantage of it while I can ;)

The staff was able to get me in on extremely short notice (45min). Lacey did my hair and it surpassed any and all expectations I had! I have very long frizzy hair that takes me at least an hour to wash, dry, and style on my own. I came in with gross hair in a bun on top of my head and left 40 mins later with clean, silky, weightless, frizz-​free, beautiful hair… and it was rainy outside! It felt absolutely amazing and it has stayed now for 4 days! The price is right too! I’m hooked. Can’t wait to go back!

Pros: price, availability of appointments
Cons: blow out didn’t hold
I came in for a blow out for my rehearsal dinner… and I warned the lady who did my hair that I have gotten a blow out at drybar (in Dallas) before and it only held for about 3 hours, so she would probably need to use more hairspray. She said that it wouldn’t be a problem because they do it differently… they basically leave the round brushes as rollers while blow-​drying the rest of the hair. Sounded like a good idea, but it did not even hold until I got home! My family asked if I ended up going to my hair appointment because they couldn’t tell. I ended up having to curl my hair on my own. I also noticed that one of the girls that was there before me wasn’t done even when I left, so I think they were just trying to squeeze me in between appointments since I showed up for my appointment early. I wish she would have just taken the time to make sure it would hold and add more hairspray.

I like this place! I’m glad I gave them a try because I usually don’t frequent businesses that rate fewer than four stars. But I think a few haters have brought Blast Blowdry’s ratings down — unnecessarily so.
I have been three times so far, and have been pleased every time. I saw Stephanie (sp?)twice and Lacey once and they both did beautiful work. I have extremely thick, curly hair and each time I have left with a style that lasts me nearly a week — And looks good for the duration!
The only complaint I have is that I bring my own products and Stephanie was happy to use them whereas Lacey somehow «forgot» even though I had just handed them to her… Being that my hair is so coarse, it’s *very* important to me that I use these particular products. (Hence, 4 stars instead of 5.)
Other than that, everything was just great!

I came from another state to Austin for a wedding, and was recommended Blast to do my hair. I’ve been to many blow dry bars and I just don’t think it was all that great. My hair looked pretty much the same as if I had done it myself. It was only $ 35, but in many other cities you get more for that same price. Not terrible, but just wasn’t impressed.

Interesante lugar … Te saca de apuro cuando lo necesitas !
35 $ no está mal para un día de hermoso cabello :) me atendió Kelly es muy buena me dejo el cabello precioso !!!

The Blast team did all my bridesmaid hair and make up for my wedding. They came to us and did an amazing job! I couldn’t have been more happy with the outcome, and everyone else was happy too. They stayed on schedule and got 6 maids done in 2 hours. You also cannot beat these prices.

Wowzers! $ 35 and someone else washes, dries and fixes my hair? Yes!!!
Lacey had me walking away looking fierce. This will be a place I’ll be coming to time and time again.
I’m one of those that loves my hair and is maybe slightly over the top anal about it. However, not a single complaint here.
I usually do my hair once every 5 days or so, so I plan to let someone else do it once in a whole for this price. Best part? It took around 30 minutes and you’re done. Yes!!!
Thanks, Lacey!

I called Blast in crisis on a Saturday at noon. My brothers wedding was that day and the bridal hair and makeup did not show up. We were scrambling to find someone that could do 9 bridesmaids and the brides hair. Janous (the owner) was amazing!!! She treated the dilemma as if it were her own and started making calls to find us someone on zero notice. Crystal showed up about an hour later and COMPLETELY FREAKING ROCKED IT! She is amazing! The bride was stunning and all of the bridesmaids hair was perfect. We got so lucky:) Thank you to Janous and Crystal for salvaging what could have been awful. I love Blast!

I am PICKY about my hair. I have unruly thick naturally curly hair and when I received a last minute invite to the Dell Hospital Gala I was officially worried about what I could do with it on short notice. I wanted an Up do… but not an uptight do, nothing too severe, or overly prom-​ish, nor overly messy. I wanted it to look effortless but elegant… but obviously NOT effortless. Confused? Exactly.
So I brought THREE pinterest looks that I thought would work. Having read the reviews below I was fully worried.
Bee did my hair.
IT WAS SO AMAZING I STILL CAN HARDLY STAND IT. SO beautiful. So elegant but NOT overdone… it was pure heaven. I received compliment after compliment on my Do but WAY MORE IMPORTANTLY… I loved it dearly. So much so that I took a selfie to make sure I have photo evidence to help her remember the next time I need it done.
I blame a decade in NYC for spoiling me. Or perhaps too many mediocre blow outs in Austin. Or maybe I’m just a touch difficult. Whatever the deal — I do not give out 5 stars lightly but wholeheartedly recommend you ask for Bee at Blast Blowdry Bar.

This review is for makeup only. I was a bridesmaid in a wedding this past Saturday and I needed my makeup done but did not want to spend too much $. I read reviews about Philip on Unilocal and they were awesome. It was very easy to book an appointment… I did everything online via their website and put my credit card down to hold my reservation. It’s $ 40 for a 30 minute makeup session with Philip. Additional $ 15 if you want fake lashes. WORTH EVERY PENNY!
Ladies, Philip is AMAZING! I’ve had my makeup done by many makeup artists in the past and this was by far the best application and best price! Philip listens to your needs, is quick and does an excellent job. I told Philip that I normally do not wear much makeup other than eyeliner and neutral lip gloss. I told him I wanted to be able to recognize myself even after the makeup application; that I didn’t want it caked on, and that I didn’t need a lot of blush. If you don’t already know, some Asians get blotchy red, some have their entire face turn red… me? Just my cheeks — natural blush!
Philip did exactly what I asked!
THANKS SO MUCH PHILIP! YOU ARE AMAZING!
If I ever need my makeup done I am definitely going back to see Philip :-)

A reply from Matilda G. to my inbox «If your curls lasted and looked good, why bitch?»
Nice customer service…

I’m a really low-​maintenance chick — don’t know anything about hair and makeup. Bottom line, I went in nervous and came out extremely happy with the service I got. Crystal did my hair, and I enjoyed chatting with her. I loved the volume and lovely curls she gave me. Amazing what volume and shape can do for your look.
I’ve had a bad experience with a makeup artist years ago (completely unrelated to Blast) who was inexperienced with doing makeup on asian faces. Nonetheless, Phillip who did my makeup was incredibly professional and knowledgeable and definitely knew how to work with asian eyes. He would explain what he was doing and give little tips along the way to show how makeup techniques would enhance your features.
Overall, I came out looking and feeling gorgeous. Thanks, Blast Blowdry!
Tip: They’re a little hard to find with no large signs. They’re a corner shop hidden in the small complex. I believe they’re to the right of a nail salon… but they’re on a corner! Call and ask for directions if you think you might get lost.

I would love to give Blast Blowdry a 5 star review but a few things are holding me back.
– Lack of lasting power — the three times that I’ve had blowouts, my hair fell flat within a few hours. I’m not trying to drop any names here but every time I’ve visited Blo Blow Dry Bar (at the Domain and in California), my hair stayed looking fab for a few days! Blast Blow Drive, please, please, please find better holding/​lasting products!
– Gimmicky roller brush technique — Not only is this super duper painful, it’s super duper painful and takes forever!
It would also be nice if they had some classic or staple styles for people to choose… you know, like tried-​and-​true styles that they’ve perfected so that people who are uncertain about what style they want can walk in and say, «make my hair like that!» Each time I went I felt like I was a bit unsure of what I wanted and I was looking to my stylist for their professional opinion. However, I didn’t necessarily feel they were all that helpful.
Some very positive things I should mention. Last October, the owner/​manager went above and beyond my expectations in order to accommodate my sister-​in-​law and mother-​in-​law for updos and makeup for my wedding. Both their hair and makeup looked fantastic!

This is an update for my previous review on MAKEUP services only!
After my previous review, I was contacted by the owner who wanted to follow up about my unsatisfactory makeup appointment. She explained that the lady that did my makeup for that appointment was not their main makeup artists. She assured me that if I gave their makeup services another try with one of their main makeup artists, I would be much more satisfied.
It just so happened, that my bridal shower was a few days after the owner had contacted me. So, I figured I would give them another shot and I booked another makeup appointment, but this time with Philip.
She gave me two names (philip and ??) to look for when I booked my appointment, but at the moment the other name escapes me. I ended up booking with Philip, and he was very very good!
Philip took a lot of time to explain to me each of the steps he was taking and you could tell he was very experienced and was able to give me expert advice on makeup application. (This was the main thing lacking from my previous appointment).
Overall, I must give blast kudos for the excellent customer service. I appreciated the follow up and the concern for providing satisfactory services. My biggest tip to any of you considering makeup services at Blast is that you should definitely choose wisely (Philip!) when you book your makeup appointment online. When I went to book my second appointment, the previous lady was still an option for booking my makeup appointment.