Tried and tested: Toni & Guy Bespoke Dry Styling

Toni and guy hair

Beauty Crew’s beauty editor put the hair service to the test

Beauty Crew Beauty Editor / May 25 2017

I don’t know about you, but I was always envious of my friends growing up who had an older sister that taught them how to whip up a fishtail or milkmaid braid in the morning before school. Now don’t get me wrong, my mum was a master of the French braid, but I had always wanted something more intricate to wear and show off.

And things aren’t so different now. Fast forward a decade (or two), I’m still sort of in the same boat. I can style up something more detailed on other people’s hair, but I’m still not great at creating intricate hairstyles on myself.  The only other person I know that does a mean job with braiding is my editor Carli, and I can’t exactly ring her up every time I have a special occasion for her to do my hair.

However, in the last two weeks, something interesting popped up in my inbox - it was an invitation to a dry styling session hosted by Toni & Guy. Needless to say, I was intrigued to see if it could be the solution I was after to try out some new hairstyles.

The lowdown

Pop into any Toni & Guy salon nation-wide to take advantage of their new bespoke dry styling service. It’s as simple as it sounds - turn up with clean hair (wash it as close to the appointment as possible), pick one of the hairstyles on their menu card, and walk out with a beautiful blow-dry, style or updo within the hour. Styles start from $55 and the most expensive one is $100. Sounds pretty good so far, right?

The process

I headed to my appointment where I was handed a card featuring not two, or three, but thirty different hairstyles to pick from. Some were classic updos, some were loose and tousled, and some featured bold braids. As I was in the safe hands of a professional, I decided on ‘Pretty in Punk’, which featured tight braids on one side, and a loose voluminous blow-out on the other. It seriously oozed character and attitude, and something completely out of the norm for me.

The 'Pretty In Punk' look

It wasn’t long before my stylist used a fine-tooth comb to divide my hair into sections, applied a texturising spray into my roots, and transformed one side of my hair into two very tight braids. As for the other side, he applied more texturising spray all over, and blow-dried with a medium-barrelled brush and a hair dryer to set my mane into loose waves.

The final verdict

My hairstyle was completed within 40 minutes, something which I was seriously impressed with as my hair is quite long and thick and usually takes ages to style. Upon arriving at the office I was met with several oohs and ahhs, which in my eyes, means that the service was a complete success.

The final look

Want to have a go at braiding your hair yourself? Follow this guide for more.

Iantha is BEAUTYcrew's Beauty Editor, and has been part of the team since the site launched in 2016. Besides pinky-nude nail polish and wispy false lashes, she has a healthy obsession with face masks and skin care ingredients. Her previous work can be found in Virgin Australia Voyeur, Women's Health, and SHOP Til You Drop.

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