MUKILTEO — Tranquility is queen inside Bella Blowdry &Beauty Bar.
Crystal chandeliers hang from the ceiling. Clients recline in sparkling silver chairs, sipping chilled cucumber water. Blowdryers hum in the artful hands of stylists.
Bella Blowdry &Beauty Bar, which opened June 6, does not offer haircuts, coloring or a permanent new look. Instead, Bella specializes in styling. Clients get their hair dried, polished and shaped into styles that last for up to three days.
Choose from bouncy curls, beach waves or the classic smooth and shiny look.
It doesn’t matter how short, curly or unruly the hair is naturally. Bella will make it happen.
All it takes is 30 minutes.
These salons are called blow-dry bars, or dry bars for short. Bella touts itself as the first blow-dry bar in Snohomish County.
Bella owner Christine Shyka-Beasley used to commute to a dry bar as far as Bellevue for her blow-out fix.
It was in preparation for her 16-year-old daughter Elizabeth’s homecoming dance last October that Shyka-Beasley realized the need for a local blow-dry bar.
The mother of two didn’t have time to take her daughter to another county to get her hair done and figured other busy moms didn’t either.
“I just thought, why doesn’t Mukilteo have something that’s geared towards women and beauty? Why not?” Shyka-Beasley said.
Her personal hairstylist introduced her to people in the industry and helped her decide on which products to purchase for the dry bar.
Shyka-Beasley, a New Jersey native, is a chiropractor, life coach, personal trainer and Zumba instructor. She sees clients at her chiropractic practice one day a week and she devotes the rest of her time to Bella.
Styling Snohomish County is just one way that Shyka-Beasley is fulfilling her drive to make women feel beautiful. After years of helping women become healthy through personal training and fitness classes, a salon felt like the natural next step.
“My passion is empowering women. I’ll go wherever that takes me,” Shyka-Beasley said. “I want women to feel confident in themselves when they engage and participate in the world around them, and part of that confidence comes from a polished appearance. We want everyone leaving our salon feeling ‘Bella Beautiful.’”
In the early half of the 20th Century, many American women frequented salons once a week to get their hair done, which was typically permed or set in a cloud of hairspray in those days. The trend died down when home products became available.
Now, women are returning to the salon for quick fixes. The cost of a blowout ranges from $25 to $35, depending on the desired style.
Options range from the standard blowout to updos and braids. Other services include lash extensions, and even $15 scalp massages for men. All of Bella’s stylists are trained in makeup, too.
Every client receives a complimentary application of Mirabella makeup, a salon exclusive cosmetic line. Bella accommodates bridal parties and birthday parties for children of all ages.
Requests have been pouring in for the salon to open as early as five in the morning to cater to commuters.
Bella stylist Cindra Jones is up for the challenge.
When Jones, 24, moved to Seattle from Los Angeles two years ago, she was disappointed by the scarcity of blow-dry bars in Seattle compared to her hometown.
Bella’s opening was a great professional opportunity for the curly-haired Jones, who’s relieved to have a local blow-dry bar.
“It’s very exciting to be a part of the movement up here,” said Jones.
If the convenience of the location doesn’t de-stress the modern woman, then a talented scalp massage during the shampoo, refreshing drinks and soothing Parisian cafe music just might.
Bella Blowdry &Beauty Bar is located at 10100 Mukilteo Speedway, No. 105, nestled between Starbucks, Speedway Drycleaners, and a nail salon, Serenity Nails &Spa.
With the opening of Bella, “Pamper Alley” might be a more fitting name for the Mukiteo Speedway stripmall.
Stop by to grab a latte, drop off your laundry and get polished, from head-to-toe.
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