Blo Dri

Blo Dri has not closed. It’s under new ownership and thereby, under a new name. Note: it is now known as the Tracy Aducci Salon.
I’ve gone here about a dozen times (maybe more?) for a blow out. Still a fan, especially since they have taken me on the same day I’ve called. Yes, they are a bit pricey and service varies between stylists but isn’t that the case anywhere? One star off for the price, only because I’ve found a fab place that cuts my hair for only about $ 15 more. So, yes, it’s pricey, but in a pinch or for a special occasion, I do it. Your hair is one of the most important things you wear!
BTW, I’ve had a flat-​iron run through my ends for my super straight blow outs and never been charged extra. Go here, note your stylist, and next time you call, make sure you ask for him/​her and what the charge will be for your hair length. You are in charge of managing your expectations!

Louy is the best! If you want your hair straight and to last for days, definitely go see him!

I had made an appointment to have my hair blown out based on most of the reviews I read on this site– most of the complaints had been from people who had longer hair and they had not known they would be charged more for their blow out. Guess what? I was one of them.
My hair is not long per se– I can’t do that twisty ponytail bun thing on top of the head. My hair is not far past my shoulders and I certainly don’t consider it long (peep that profile pic of mine– its that length now). I had an appointment at lunch to get my hair blown out– I had read how there were add ons for curling irons and flat irons. I made sure to tell them I just wanted it blown out. My hair is very curly and will start to curl/​frizz with the slightest bit of humidity. The actual blow out looked great– I wasn’t thrilled by my part getting switched to the other side, but meh. Its a part. It can be changed and I did get alot of compliments on how good it looked. But comma however, it did not last long. When I get my hair blown out when I get my hair done (aka cut and colour) it lasts for days… heck, when I was unemployed and getting trims at Super Cuts, it lasted longer than this blow out. I woke up the next morning, after putting my hair in a pony to go to sleep, it was all sorts of not as straight as it was 16 hours earlier.
(sigh) I want to give them another chance. Chances are, if I need to for an occasion, I will… but please Blo Dri… please…make sure you note somewhere on your website and in the salon that someone with longer hair costs will pay more than the advertised $ 27…if I had known that it would have cost me the same as another salon, guess what? Well… I don’t think you need me to answer that.

I’ve been to many colorists in the city who just couldn’t get my color right… very frustrating. It either looked too brassy or chunky style coloring-​yuk!
Now I see Tracy and every time my blonde hair looks great! Very clean and bright. She even recommended products to keep it looking that way.
I’ll be back to see her from now on. Thanks!

No place better for a high-​quality blow-​out… and fast! I’ve been going weekly for nearly a year. I have difficult hair, but it’s like a cake walk for my stylist, Elizabeth. I tried another place in Washington D.C. when I was out there on business and that’s when I really knew that there is no place like Blo-​dri. I took my 10-​year old daughter once and she loved it too! There’s nothing like a professional blow out to make you feel like a million bucks! I love this place!

Got my hair blowed out super straight for my bday night out. It stayed perfect the entire night — even in the rain and humidity. Krista did such an amazing job! It was my first time at the salon & I will be back!

I was staying in Chicago for work and needed to get my hair done before an event. The hotel recommend Blo Dri so I gave it try. They were able to get me right in for a wash and blowout. The staff was nice and the place was small but cute inside. I was very pleased with the blowout and it was at a very affordable price.

Oh Chicago, how I miss thee.
Return weekend trip and a certain fabulous friend’s fantaboulous 30^th birthday party required mucho planning of fun filled activities. While contemplating something special and fancy to do with the birthday girl before our wild night, I came across the champagne blowout at Blo Dri. Used to walk by this place all the time while on my way to work… it’s cute, and conveniently located right smack dab in the center of all the river north bars/​restaurants, making it ideal for a smashing blowout before that extra special night out (if you dig river north for a night out, which I’m slightly embarrased to admit I do).
Ever the procrastinator, made the appointment on Friday morning for Saturday evening at 5pm. The place closes at 6, so 5 was pretty much our latest option. Ended up working out great for us, since we had a positively geriatric 6:30pm dinner reservation, but not ideal for someone going to dinner at a more reasonable time. We walked into the salon, were greeted immediately, and the front desk lady went to get our glasses of bubbly. Now, even though the blow dry was $ 55 each (yikes!), I wasn’t really expecting them to give us more than a glass, and I wasn’t expecting it to be delicious, but to my surprise, it WAS delicious, and they refilled those glasses like the party was ON! I think we each had three glasses. Definitely made me happier about spending so much dough, though in hindsight, wasn’t the best idea for us to be feeling it at 6, when were supposed to go into the wee hours, but such is life. Birthday Girl (BG) was the first to start, while I sat by and enjoyed my champagne for a few minutes before the second stylist was free. Don’t quite recall their names (hey, three glasses of champagne), but they were both very nice and personable, asking us about the special occasion and doing their best to make it fun. BG was done a bit earlier than me, and her hair looked amazing, big curls and volume just as requested (think Kardashian, not Aguilera). Was kicking myself for the lack of camera and getting excited about my final product. When my hair was finished, I found it equally amazing, one of the top 5 blowouts of my life… for the 10 minutes we were in the salon.
The ultimate problem was, 10 minutes after that, when we walked the three blocks from the salon to the restaurant, our hair had deflated and lost a bit of that magic curl. As a veteran blow dry client, I realize that to some extent this was inevitable, but I felt that with a little more product, and TLC, it could have been a bit less. Mine held up a bit better than BG’s but I think the experience and our special time together made up for it. And she really still did look gorgeous.
So all in all, blow dry was good, but could have held up better. Price was high, but gave more value than I expected. Go for the experience, but only on a splurge night, and tell them to spray the crap out of that ‘do.

Amazing!

Overall:
What I like about this place is that they pretty much know you want to walk out looking fabulous for some reason or another. And from the moment you walk in, their aura is, «Hey, we got this.»
They staff:
Friendly, they work together to wash and style. You can have an honest conversation with them. They aren’t «
The «bad»:
They only thing you have to be cautious of is the fact that I thought I was coming in for a $ 35 blow out. After she blowed me out, she suggested a little curl would look nice. When I went to pay, it was $ 55. I didn’t realize that her suggestion was an add-​on. It wasn’t a big deal, I don’t stress about making payments for beauty, I just wish I would have known as a courtesy before she started styling.
In sum:
Was it the most gorgeous I’ve ever looked in my life? No.
Was it worth not having to stress about my hair before a nice dinner? Yes.
Other good to knows:
— In & Out in 45
— You can walk in
— You cannot put tip on a credit card
— Their hours cater to the working woman who needs to look good before a big meeting, or after work before a big dinner
— They don’t do color, just cuts and blow outs + styles

What’s a girl to do after a long day of wandering the Chicago streets in the rain? Get a blow out, of course!
Normally, I don’t splurge on this kind of pampering, but my traveling companion and I looked *bad* after spending the afternoon getting lost several times in the city. We had a few hours to kill before meeting up with some other co-​workers and happened across Blo Dri during our misadventures that day.
We were able to walk-​in and get an appointment right away, which was fantastic. The relief of being able to sit down somewhere dry is worth a few stars by itself! The gal at the front was kind of friendly and our stylists were also nice enough, especially considering the shape we showed up in (I was wearing a Colt 45 tee and looked like a drowned rat!).
My blow out was OK. Not fantastic, not terrible, just OK. Am currently in the process of growing out my bangs and the way my stylist blew them out, they ended up flopping in front of my face. As soon as I got back to the hotel, I had to pin them back with a bobby pin. Not her fault of my floppy bangs, but she could have done something fun to keep them out of my face.
My cohort’s hair looked fab! She has thick, long hair and it can hold the style a bit longer than mine. And because her stylist also had thick, curly hair, I bet she knew exactly how to manage that mane.
For $ 35, it was a pretty decent deal. It was a nice way to end our soggy afternoon. Would I return? Maybe… but I’d be more specific in what I was expecting as a final result.

I’m usually pretty good at getting my hair straight thanks to the Brazilian Keratin treatment, but since chemicals aren’t pregnancy friendly my hair is out of control these days. I’ve been shelling out the dough for lots of blow outs lately… and it’s worth it.
At $ 35 a blow out Konrad has become my man… or had become my man. This morning I showed up for my blow out with Konrad and the receptionist told me he was double booked so they’d be putting me with Elizabeth instead. Say what? I purposely booked my appointment with Konrad and because of my unruly curly hair can be a bit picky when it comes to trying new stylists. I was a bit peeved and asked if they’d still be charging me for an appointment with a stylist that I hadn’t booked. The receptionist informed me they’d have to charge me, although after some ‘tude from me she checked with the manager who said they could take off 20%. Whoop Dee Do (note the sarcasm).
Elizabeth did an OK job. She was a bit rushed herself because she had a client of her own waiting so it turned out a bit frizzier than I like. I asked if she could run the flat iron thru it to take out the frizz and she told me she’d have to charge me an extra $ 10. An extra $ 10 for not being capable of getting my hair straight with just the blow dryer? Say what (once again)? Fortunately, they didn’t end up charging me the extra $ 10, but thought it was a bit ridiculous they even tried based on the situation.
I had another appointment booked with Konrad for next Saturday– thought I’d get a blow out before my anniversary celebration and a memorial day weekend wedding. However, I canceled it and booked it with my normal hair stylist, Lenny at Elizabeth Arden Red Door Salon (he’s amazing). I figure it’s worth spending the extra $ 15 to get the actual stylist and blow out that you want.
Since I’ve got 5 more months of unruly pregnancy hair in my future I’m back on the search for an affordable stylist who’s a pro at straightening curly hair. Any suggestions Unilocalers?

I came here on a Saturday morning to get a blow-​out for a wedding I was going to be in. I haven’t had a blow-​out before (I know, gasp!) since I’ve been in school basically all my life and could never really justify the luxury.
I got assigned to Krista who seemed a little nervous at first, which in turn made me sort of nervous. I have long, thinnish, straight hair and told her I wanted allover volume with a slight curl on the ends. She was really quick (45 min total) and went above and beyond by enforcing the curls with a curling iron since my hair didn’t want to hold the curls. I have to say, I ended up extremely pleased with the results! She did an awesome job and my hair looked voluminous and great! As far as lasting power, it lasted me only for about 6 hours or so, but this wasn’t her fault. It was snowing and raining hard all day which obviously took a toll on my hair especially since we did some outside photos.
Total cost: $ 35. Not bad at all. I’ll absolutely be back.

After reading the other Unilocal reviews I thought I knew what to expect here. Get my hair done for a special event and it would be in the $ 25 price range right? Well, I’ve learned my lesson folks. ALWAYS ask the price before you book a service. Seems pretty straightforward but you never know. I blew entirely too much money coming here when I could have gone to my fave salon (Red 7) around the corner and had a much better experience there for a lot less money.
So I came to Blo Dri for an updo. I figured since they specialized in blow-​outs that they’d be great for special dos too. The staff was pleasant and it was hopping on a Saturday. The stylist did my hair and it looked nice. I went to pay… it is $ 65. Wow. I was «blown away» not by my hair but the price! I walked outside clutching my nearly empty wallet kicking myself for not asking the how much it would cost in advance.
You think this would be it right? No. Some of the stylists are outside and I mention I was going to walk to Nordstrom to get my make-​up done. I should have just hiked the few blocks to Nordstrom and called it a day here. Instead they say they mentioned they could do my make-​up. I thank them up and down thinking this is a complimentary service, as it is at many salons. The stylists did a great job I must say. I would be more than happy to have her put a face on for me again… I tipped her $ 5 and left. She ran after me and said I still had to pay. I feel horribly guilty and what does this portion of my bill come to? $ 35! Yikes!
Now cash poor, I had to wait for the bus to take me home. Not a warming experience by any means. I did not have the warm fuzzies after visiting Blo Dri and think I could have easily had the same or better experience at any number of downtown salons and paid the same if not less money.

I like this place a lot! It’s super cute, the people are friendly, it’s easy to get an appointment and they accommodate last minute changes to your schedule as best they can. The prices are also very decent, especially considering their location.
But of course, what you care most about is– how was my hair?
We had a law school prom and I desperately needed help. My hair is super thick and layered, just below shoulder length, and pin straight. All attempts to curl them in the past have ended with flat hair in two hours. My daily hairdo is a pony or just to leave it down, maybe with a headband Blair Waldorf style. Stylists are intimidated when I ask for updos because the thickness and the layering pose a challenge — my last attempt at an updo resulted in a pouf-​half-​pony because my Stylist just gave up. Yet, I have dreams of Taylor-Swift-in-«Love Story”-like hair, especially to match my Greek-​style dress for the prom. I came to Blo Dri, expecting them to see my Taylor Swift jpg on my iphone, shake their heads, and give me a blow-​out instead (really, I picked this place because I expected any salon I was going to go to was going to do that, or at least charge me $ 80 for a full on Taylor attempt so I’d pick a blow out by default.)
My stylist Krista was challenged, but oh my goodness she did it. I can’t believe it! I offered her outs («But if you think a blow out would be better that’s ok») and warnings («My hair has never held a curl for more than two hours»), but she was crazy brave and actually DID IT. Curling Iron, an hour, and maybe 40+ bobby pins later, Krista had created a really elaborate updo with perfect curls that matched exactly what I had in mind. And to my disbelief, it literally lasted ALL NIGHT — through the afternoon, the dinner, the prom, the drinks after. I was almost sad to take it down at bedtime, like it was a unicorn I might never see again! They only charged me $ 60, which is the minimum updo charge in a lot of salons — but her work as definitely more than «minimum.»
I’d recommend this place for updos then for sure! The women around me getting blowouts looked real snazzy, so I’d be open to trying that service maybe next time I have something more than a regular night-​out and less than a prom. It’s really easy to get to, right by the Merchandise Mart and a 15 minute walk from where I live in Streeterville.
Xoco, by the way, is right across the street. Spicy and lovely hot chocolate to toast an amazing hairdo would be very appropriate.

GREAT place to come if you want to spoil your hair a little bit with a wash/​blow dry. They cut hair very well too– and are not too pricey. My suggestion is to pay the extra $ 5 and get the deep conditioning treatment. Your hair will thank you.
I love coming here when I want to look good for my boyfriend and feel sexy. I am not one who can EVER master that «salon» look at home, so blo dri helps me more than you know!
The owner is super nice. I bought a product once that the container was broken– went in without a receipt or anything, and she replaced it, just like that.
They also are NEVER busy. Every time I just walk in, I am waited on immediately.

$ 25 blow outs…
In River North?!
I like big hair! Yes, I know… some of you are thinking, «Shut up Colleen, this is excessive… I can blowdry my own hair.» Well, I understand… I can tickle myself, too… it doesn’t make me laugh as hard or long. Just sayin’.
Yes, lady friends of Chicago… THIS is where you go prior to that big meeting/​party/​date/​special occasion to achieve the volume and boost only professionals can provoke out of your lackluster poof, without looking like you «tried too hard.»
I have short-​ish hair and got a solid 1.5 days out my blow out. Perfectly plump for the party (and this was even AFTER hiding under a hat for part of a day), just the right amount of hair spray, bounce, swagger, bada bouffant! Unfortunately, my hair can look very «soccer mom» when blown out big-​style, but this was just the right amount. Yay!
Staff was just fine. Not overly friendly, not overbearing. In-​n-​out in 35 minutes, washed/​dried and ready to face the world with a much more balanced «hair-​to-​face» ratio.
$ 25. Cheaper than Blo Salon in LP. (currently at $ 29). Parking on street is OK, bus/​el very close. Walk-​ins encouraged, though I did make an appointment.
Flat tresses be damned. Blo it out.

I work in River North and have been here twice, on short notice, for haircuts. Megan H. gives me the cut I ask for, at the very reasonable price of $ 35.
I think Blo Dri rocks and will continue to be a customer.

I love blow-​outs. If I had unlimited funds, I would hire a hairdresser on-​call who would come to my house and do my hair. But I don’t, and this place is affordable enough for the occasional visit. I had Andrea and she was super sweet. I would come more often, but it’s a bit out of the way for me.
Blo Dri — if you’re reading this, how about a locale either near Wicker Park or Grant Park?

Um, I NEVER want to dry my own hair again — Lorenzo is my man. Chicago finally has a «blow out» salon! Blo Dri just opened a mere block from my apartment and I’m confident that I’ll be there more often than my budget allows.
I walked in on a Saturday afternoon and immediately sat my fanny down at a shampoo bowl to be pampered (the standard shampoo and condition and a glass of champagne awaiting me at the styling chair). With my 14 pounds of hair I’m used to being at a salon for hours for highlights, cut and style. I think Lorenzo had me in and out in 30 minutes… and I exited with voluminous hair befitting of the goddess I am.