hairy situations

Amazon-Enabled Hair Salons Are Coming

Photo: Getty Images, Amazon

Ted Gibson, the celebrity hairstylist responsible for giving Sandra Oh her 2019 bangs, is working on another fun thing for February: the opening of his new, tech-y, Amazon-enabled salon, Starring by Ted Gibson. WWD reports that the smart-capable store will allow you to shop on Amazon and talk to Alexa while you get your hair done with Gibson’s products, which are currently exclusively available at — well, you guessed it.

Jason Backe, Gibson’s husband and business partner, says Starring will be the “world’s first smart salon.” How smart is it? Well, first of all, it’s going to have podlike hair stations called “clouds,” — not like cumulus, stratus, and cirrus, but that thing you upload all your information and memories to. Each is equipped with Alexa for talking and a tablet for watching Netflix or shopping your stylist’s Amazon Storefront of a curated collection of recommended hair products.

The clouds also come with a variety of lighting options, so clients can see what their hair looks like under different ones (fingers crossed that “unflattering office lighting” and “harsher, unflattering office bathroom lighting” are included). Clients can also select a variety of colored lights to create a “chair-based Instagram moment.”

What else? “Everything from the access to the front door, the music, the lighting, the coffee maker, the Roomba, the HVAC — everything is smart capable,” Backe adds. It will open in Los Angeles later this month, but according to the WWD, Gibson is thinking of expanding this smart-salon concept into more U.S. cities. This is welcome news for people with hair who’ve accidentally asked Alexa to do something for them in public (red flag) and people with hair who just really love Roombas (me).

Amazon-Enabled Hair Salons Are Coming