By Khalida Sarwari
She’ll scrimp and save a little when it comes to clothes and makeup, but for Shirin Nijhawan, hair is the one beauty regimen she doesn’t mind spending a little extra on. So when an opportunity came along to share that interest with the rest of the Saratoga community, Nijhawan spared no expense. The result is Dazzle, a new–and Saratoga’s only–blow dry bar.
Located at 14410 Big Basin Way, Dazzle Style Bar & Boutique is in the same building previously occupied by Y & L Style Bar. Nijhawan bought the business from the previous owner because she said she wanted to ramp it up to its fullest potential.
“I used to be a client,” said Nijhawan. “I used to love this place. Whenever I passed by this place, I’d say, ‘I wish I had something like this.'”
It didn’t take long for Nijhawan’s wish to come true. She had her eyes on the place in the summer, and come Sept. 1 it was hers to do whatever she desired. The first place she started was researching colors to find one that was perfect for the type of salon she had in mind. Finally, she settled on orange- and charcoal-colored walls and white furniture that complements an organized and spacious layout.
“Apparently orange became the color that didn’t offend anyone,” she said. “It made me happy. I wanted [my customers] to walk in and be happy.”
She then made it a mission to visit every blow dry bar in the South Bay and Peninsula to learn from the pros. She retained some of the stylists from Y & L, and after making a few other changes to the interior of the salon and adding services that Y & L didn’t offer, Nijhawan was ready to dazzle her customers.
Brandon Hoffman, who recently moved from Fresno to San Jose, is one of the stylists that Nijhawan retained from Y & L. On average, he said he works on about eight clients a day.
“Getting to style people’s hair and making them feel good about their hair” is his favorite part of the job, he said.
Dazzle specializes in blow drying and hairstyling. As Nijhawan put it, “Our tools of the trade are the hair dryer and flat iron.”
A typical blow dry experience can take 45 minutes to an hour. Aside from the blow dry bar, Dazzle also offers deep conditioning, nail services, facial waxing, eyelash and hair extensions, makeup application and NuFace contouring treatments that Nijhawan describes as “instant Botox.”
The salon is connected to an adjoining boutique where one can find a fusion of Indian and Western clothes, as well as makeup by Jane Iredale and costume jewelry. The hair products she uses are from the Seattle-based Seven haircare line.
Nijhawan plans to be a hands-on owner. “I’ll be here every day,” she said.
The Saratogan hails from New Delhi, India, and moved to the U.S. in 1993 with her husband. After spending some time in Sunnyvale, Mountain View and Boston, the couple settled in Houston for 15 years before moving to Saratoga in 2012 with their two sons, one of whom is a junior at the University of Georgia and the other who’s a sophomore at the Harker School.
While in Houston, Nijhawan and her husband, a venture capitalist, operated a coffee shop called Coffee Groundz. She also ran her own event planning company, Shirin’s Events, after getting her big break while working for YouTube. She has merged her company with Dazzle and now offers an additional service to anyone interested in renting the space for an event. Nijhawan provides catering for birthday, bachelorette and bridal parties, baby showers and girls’ night out gatherings.
For more information or to make an appointment, call Dazzle at 408.868.5569. Nijhawan said she plans to offer online booking within the next few weeks.
