Pressed Roots, a silk blowout bar built for textured hair, will open its fifth location in Washington in December, its first on the East Coast, founder Piersten Gaines said in an interview with Fashionista, which published the conversation on Oct. 30. The company is expanding by repeating its formula. The D.C. salon will use the same layout, services, memberships and pricing as the existing locations in Dallas and Houston. Gaines said all of the other locations are profitable and retain customers steadily.
What a Silk Blowout Costs at Pressed Roots
The signature silk blowout starts at $80. It is the company’s version of a silk press, and the stylist flat-irons the hair only once to limit heat damage. Add-ons include trims, deep conditioning and steam treatments. Memberships are tiered and start at $139 a month, and core customers come in about twice a month, according to Fashionista’s interview with Gaines. Gaines launched the business in 2018 after a salon visit in which no stylist on hand could work with textured hair once her preferred stylist moved away. For its first two years Pressed Roots ran as a traveling pop-up in Boston, Atlanta and Dallas.
How the First Standalone Location Survived Its Opening
The first standalone location opened in Dallas in 2020 and closed two days later because of the pandemic. It reopened two months later with a waitlist, Gaines told Fashionista. Additional locations followed in Dallas and Houston. Gaines said, “If you can do textured hair, you can really do all types of hair.” The company hires only licensed cosmetologists.
How Pressed Roots Trains Stylists
New hires practice on mannequin heads and study hair anatomy, porosity and product selection. They then learn the 12-step “Pressed Roots Method,” which runs from the greeting through the farewell. Gaines said she does not feel the company has a direct competitor right now, and that the goal has always been to become a national brand. The D.C. location opens in December.
