Drybar founder Alli Webb debuts a brand-new, anti-blowdry product line after selling company for $255 million
Webb co-founded Drybar in 2010, a blow-dry-only hair salon that specialized in all different kinds of styles.
But this summer, Webb introduced a new haircare line to the world, Messy, which was inspired by her own personal hair journey of discovering that beauty is about more than just perfection.
The products, which range from $16 to $34, are all powered by the Rough Dry Method, her low-heat technique that encourages women to style with their hands, twisting strands to achieve effortless waves.
'My number one goal is that women feel really empowered to embrace their hair, and [that] they feel confident in their hair,' Webb recently told FEMAIL in an exclusive interview.
She said that the products, which include the Overnight Repair Oil Serum and Rough Dry Hair Styling Cream, are 'meant to really help you embrace what you have.'
With Messy, she wants to encourage women to 'embrace this not so perfect look,' something that she's been practicing herself over the past few years.
It all started right around the time when she sold Drybar for $255 million in 2019, which she said coincided with a lot of personal struggles, like her mom passing away, a divorce and her son going to rehab for addiction issues - all topics that she tackled in her 2023 memoir, The Messy Truth.
The products, which range from $16 to $34, are all powered by the Rough Dry Method , her low heat technique that encourages women to style with their hands, twisting strands to achieve effortless waves
'I was just in this place of, you know, what am I doing next?' Webb told FEMAIL.
She knew that in whatever project she ventured to next, she wanted it to have a 'thread' of what she had been dealing with in her personal life.
'While we were all in COVID, I think that that was the biggest informant,' Webb said.
'I feel like I was on a very spiritual, personal journey, and then I wasn't thinking about blowouts, or my hair, we were all just trying to survive,' she continued.
But when the pandemic eased years later, she realized that her hair was looking better and healthier than ever.
She had mostly stopped using heat, and focused on air drying instead.
'I found myself in this experimental phase of, how do I get my my wavy hair to still feel styled and done without having a blowout, and then, you know, air drying it,' she shared. 'And that's like, when I kind of came up with the twisting and rough drying.'
Webb decided that she wanted to create products that support this, as she's always been interested in getting back into the business and creating something new.
'I found myself in this experimental phase of, how do I get my my wavy hair to still feel styled and done without having a blowout, and then, you know, air drying it,' she shared. 'And that's like, when I kind of came up with the twisting and rough drying'
She collaborated on Messy with her brother, Michael Landau, who she also co-founded Drybar with.
Webb's new method just takes four simple steps, which starts off by applying the Rough Dry Styling Cream to damp hair.
Once the product has been applied, you then rough dry your hair about 30 to 50 percent using your fingers, and finishing off with a blow-dryer. After that, you will twist your hair into 1 inch sections.
Finally, you'll let your hair dry completely, and then tousle your hair for what she calls an 'effortless, soft wave' all throughout your locks.
But for Webb, it's not only the product that counts, but the messaging around it. Each Messy bottle is emblazoned with a mantra, like 'I am transformed,' or 'I will not be broken.'
'I just wanted to create not only a product line that supports your hair, but better and really leaning into your hair, but also one that really speaks to women. That's why all the mantras are on the products,' the founder explained.
'I want women to feel really empowering and almost giving permission to not have a perfect blowout, to look perfect, choose to be a little more authentic and real,' she said.
Webb noted that the timing of this product line feels 'incredibly good,' especially for where she is in her own personal journey, and where so many other women seem to be - less is more.
'This message is very, very authentic to me,' she said.
Messy is currently being sold in Sephora and on the brand's online website.
'What's fascinating to me is when, when I show up in an event, when I talk to people, they're like, "I want your hair,"' Webb said.
'And I'm like, you can have it.'
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