“Drybar was such a massive business and I was wearing so many hats, especially between the retail business and the product line. Now it’s nice to focus purely on product—this is my wheelhouse.”–Alli Webb
Photo: Messy by Alli Webb
In 2017, I interviewed entrepreneur and founder of Drybar, Alli Webb, about her evolution from stylist to brand founder. So much has happened in the intervening years, personally and professionally (and she wrote a book about it), and I recently had the chance to speak to Webb about a new era in her life and career, and about the launch of her new styling line, Messy.
This new haircare line came out of discoveries she made about herself, her hair, and what she feels women want to experience when they style their own hair. And it’s not perfection.
Hair Care Rooted in Authenticity
“This has been a really interesting journey for me to get here—one I certainly didn’t see coming,” Webb shared when I asked how Messy came about. “I was always fighting my natural wave, obsessed with the blowout, and overheating my hair. I never realized the damage I was doing until I stopped.”
She describes the pandemic as a turning point in how she treated her hair. “I stopped getting blowouts, coloring less, and letting it be more natural—and I realized how good it felt to not fight it anymore.”
This freedom from viewing her hair as the enemy was empowering, and Webb wanted to help women discover this same sense of liberation. But the effortless and au naturel style still needs a little help sometimes.
“I can’t air dry my hair, it’s too unpredictable,” she says.
But as a stylist, herself, Webb understood how a “rough dry” could speed her on her way without adding too much heat. And that the right products and technique could calm the frizz while encouraging the curl.
“We call it the Rough Dry Method, and so while your hair is damp, apply the Rough Dry Cream, then twist one-inch sections all over. Hair dries in the shape it sets—so these twists give it consistency and shape. It’s an in-between method, somewhere between a blowout and air drying.”
“It’s Your Hair, But Better”
Messy launches at Sephora on June 24.
Beautiful Mess
Webb seems to have tapped into a cultural shift in how women want to show up.
“I called Sephora almost two years ago and said, ‘There’s a hole in the market. We need a line that helps women work with what they have. And I wanted to show how to style their hair in a way that works for them—messy, imperfect, but intentional. That’s what this line is all about. These products are meant to be flexible, usable, and empowering.”
While she wants women to agonize less over achieving “perfect” hair, she also advocates for being more accepting and nurturing of our imperfections, and creating some ritual around self care. The product names hint at this: ‘I Am Enough’ Rough Dry Cream, ‘I AM TRANSFORMED’ Instant Silk Revival Spray, and ‘I WILL NOT BE BROKEN’ Overnight Repair Hair Serum.
“It’s fascinating how much we put on our skin at night because we’ve been taught to do that–but why aren’t we thinking about our hair the same way? If you’re religiously using a serum at night (like Messy Overnight Serum), it’ll hydrate your ends.”
Messy Silk Revival is described as being perfect for “second or third-day hair.” The line also includes a nourishing shampoo and conditioner.
“I didn’t set out to ride a trend—I was just in that headspace,” Webb concludes. “It came from where I was in my life. But all of it brought me here so I’m grateful, really grateful.”
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