Blo Birmingham Grand Opening

I have always loved and respected Blo Blow Dry Bar so when I found out that a location inMetro Detroit was opening… I jumped for joy! On August 4, 2016 I had the honor of attending the opening Blo Blow Dry Bar’s Birmingham location.  The event was spectacular. Guests enjoyed a complimentary blow out, goodie bags, champagne, desserts, and delicious catering from Triple Nickel Restaurant.  A portion of the proceeds from this event also benefited the Pink Fund which provides financial assistance for breast cancer patients.

Interview with the Blo Birmingham Owners

Amanda Fraifogl, Kelechi Uchendu, and Nicole Ashley

What made you decide to open Blo?  

•          We loved the idea of opening a business and we wanted a place that we could go and feel pampered. Hence the idea was born and Blo turned out to be the right fit and the right feel for us.

Have you always been interested in the hair/beauty industry?  

•          Yes! Like little girls we still pour thru the magazines together; watching the trends and googling how to's on You tube and Instagram.

What separates Blo from other blow dry bars?

•         We were the first! Our stylists (aka bloers) must complete an intensive training course in order to work for blo. They are educated extensively on not only how to master the 7 signature styles but also on how to care for our client’s hair (blow dryers can be a weapon in the wrong hands) and the best products to use to ensure a beautiful result.

The Pink Fund is an amazing organization. What prompted you to choose them over another organization that deals with breast cancer?

•        Nicole: Having lost both my parents in the last year to cancer I witnessed first-hand the choice that is made during treatment between paying rent and a medicine that might offer some small relief to a patient’s discomfort. The financial stress of treatment on top of the physical and emotional is an aspect of cancer that is rarely realized and what the pink fund is doing to lessen that burden is incredibly important. We wanted to be a part of these efforts.

How do you balance your personal life and running Blo?

• ·         We're not quite there yet. But that's why we are partners, together we are confident we will get there. And our families have been incredibly supportive.

What do you love the most about working at Blo? 

•     Everything! The energy! Watching women leave feeling like they can run the world! We love to see women feeling good about themselves!

A lot of African -American woman believe that a blow dry salon would not be able to work with their hair texture (unless it is a looser curl pattern or is relaxed). Do you have a stylist or stylists that can work clients who wear sew-in hair extensions and have African -American textured hair? 

•      We do!  We have a style boss that is very familiar with textured African - American hair.

What impact would you have loved to make in Detroit in five years? 

•          Our goal is to empower women; in whatever capacity we may have the honor to do so.

Does this whole experience feel like a dream? 

•          It actually does! It was a year in the making and a lifetime of knowing there was more we wanted to do; more we could do. We feel so lucky.

What has been the most challenging part about opening Blo?

•          "You don't know what you don't know!" Nothing could be more true. We've made some mistakes, but that just makes us smarter for the next time around! We're rolling with the punches!

Meet Amber Cann!

Kelechi Uchendu and Amber Cann

Amber Cann works with every type of hair texture! In addition to that, she also does sew ins outside of the salon so if you have a weave know that you will be in good hands. Amber will even be able to blowout your wigs if you bring them to Blo! Amber told me that she herself has natural hair and the products work great on natural hair. I cannot wait to book my blowout with Amber!

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