Interview | Yulia Rorstrom of Duck & Dry
When Yulia Rorstrom launched Duck & Dry in 2014, she wanted to change how Britain thinks about getting its hair done. Taking her cue from the blow-dry bar boom in the US, the former financial services consultant and LSE Management graduate created a design-led brand built around great hair that fits into busy lives and leaves clients feeling their best.
More than a decade on, the London-born brand’s signature Classic Duck — big, bouncy, and full of movement — is still the service clients come back for. It sits amongst a full menu of blow-dries, updos, braids, treatments, and even cuts. There are now several salons and a franchise arm, plus partnerships with the likes of John Lewis, Harvey Nichols, and Rosewood Hotels. Rorstrom now has her sights set on more UK cities and international markets.
She has also built a mostly female team and made sure there’s a real path from the salon floor into leadership.
We spoke with the founder and CEO about growing an experience-led brand, why styling products deserve more love, and what’s next for Duck & Dry.
What inspired you to create Duck & Dry?
Coming from an entrepreneurial family, I always knew I wanted to build something of my own. After leaving LSE and finishing my degree in Management, I was searching for the perfect idea and was inspired when I saw the blow-dry bar phenomenon take off in the US. It was important to me to start a business led by the consumer’s perspective rather than the industry’s. After what I saw in America, I began to notice that the UK hairdressing industry remained largely traditional and spotted a gap I wanted to fill.
Duck & Dry was born out of a vision to create an experience-led brand centred around the customer. In 2014, I finally did it and launched my business based on three founding principles still intact today — quality, convenience, and confidence. I like to think Duck & Dry is far more than just a salon; it’s a distinctive, design-led brand and experience for a new generation of beauty consumers.
What product or treatment makes the best introduction to the brand?
It has to be our Classic Duck bouncy blow-dry! We’ve got one look that people really love and remember us for, and it hasn’t changed in 12 years. The signature Classic Duck is big and bouncy, with movement on the ends — essentially, it’s your timeless go-to blow-dry experience and the one look that has stayed throughout the lookbook menu.
What has been the biggest highlight?
As a founder, you have so many days when you doubt yourself and the business, and it’s really nice to get outside approval sometimes — for someone else to believe in you and the brand when you need that extra injection of confidence.
We’ve had the pleasure of having some amazing partnerships with the likes of John Lewis, Harvey Nichols, and Rosewood Hotels. Getting these big brands and iconic retail destinations to buy into your vision and your brand is a really unbelievable experience I’ve been so grateful for.
What advice would you give to those wanting to launch their own beauty brand?
My main advice is to have a very clear point of difference. The beauty market is as saturated and competitive as it gets. There is everything for everyone on the market at different price points, so you really have to have that point of difference, an understanding of what it is and how you can best communicate it to the consumer.
What’s next for Duck & Dry?
Growth and expansion! It has always been my ambition to scale the brand, and I would love to see Duck & Dry on major high streets across the country and abroad. My plans for the future involve expanding the brand domestically into major urban hubs including Manchester and Liverpool, while introducing my London-born-and-bred concept into international markets.
I’m also super passionate about creating opportunities for people to develop and reach their potential within the company, so I’d also like to see the continuation of that culture as the brand gets bigger.
What does your daily beauty routine look like?
It’s worth saying that I don’t have a particularly complicated or lengthy routine as a busy mum of two running a business. There are a few non-negotiables I squeeze into my day to make sure I feel my best. I have my three-step skincare routine, I try to do yoga most mornings to keep myself grounded, and I don’t wash my own hair, so I’ll sit for a quick blow-dry at one of the salons — it’s my treat and a great perk of my job!
What are three beauty products you can’t live without?
Irene Forte’s Helichrysum Toner is a must. I’ve always used toners, even before they became big.
I also love a good face scrub and use the Caudalie Vinoclean Deep Cleansing Exfoliator.
Finally, I can’t live without the Duck & Dry Oomph! Dry Volume & Texture Spray. It’s perfect for keeping your blow-dry fresh for several days. I don’t wash my hair daily, so it’s really my kind of extension of a blow-dry.
What’s the best beauty advice you’ve been given?
I was actually given it recently when I was asking my nutritionist friend to recommend some vitamins or supplements because I’m probably the only 40-year-old not taking anything at the moment. She suggested that the first thing I needed to do was get my bloods checked, as there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. It was great advice because my results came back saying that there was actually no need for me to take supplements.
From that, my advice would be not to overcomplicate your beauty routine and not to seek easy routes out. Analyse your own body to understand your unique needs.
What person or brand would you love to collaborate with?
Duck & Dry is really big on partnerships. We love working with like-minded brands, so for me, I would love to do something that wouldn’t just be another logo swap. I’d love to work with another brand that mirrors our buzz and overlaps with our audience to create an amazing in-salon experience.
Rhode would be a dream collaboration, as they’re one of the fastest-growing beauty brands out there. I’d love to create a kind of glow-up experience with them, taking their iconic glazed-skin approach and tying it in with glossy hair. It could be like a ready-to-go activation incorporating both brands to create a glazed and glossy experience, or maybe even a glazed blowout.
What’s not getting the attention it deserves in the beauty industry right now?
Styling products for hair are still not being utilised by the everyday consumer as much as they could be. Most consumers are still very much sticking to the traditional rotation of shampoo and conditioner, adding the occasional hair mask every so often. As a blow-dry brand, we really value styling products and what they bring to the table.
There is this cliché that people think that adding styling products to the hair will make it sticky or heavy. It couldn’t be further from the truth! Science and research have really moved on, and all of our products are weightless and have no residue.
I’d love for people to understand that, for your blow-dry to last, it really needs a little bit of grip and control. It’s extremely difficult to create a long-lasting blow-dry on completely freshly washed hair without any styling products, and I wish that more consumers would embrace them in their homes the same way they have embraced skincare and cosmetics. The right styling product could do the same job by turning your natural hair into its best version yet.
Duck & Dry has five salons across London, with products available at duckanddry.com and amazon.co.uk. For more exclusive conversations with beauty founders, explore our interviews archive.