Uber-For-Beauty Startup StyleBee Brings Hair Stylists And Makeup Artists To You

Nowadays, it’s increasingly rare to find services that you can’t order with a smartphone. Once upon a time you had to drop your car off at a mechanic or take your laundry to a laundromat. That’s no longer the case, thanks to a growing number of mobile apps that bring those services to you.

The latest in this trend? On-demand beauty experts that you can order by smartphone, thanks to Los Angeles-based startup StyleBee.

Those experts will come to you and provide a variety of different services — everything from providing haircuts (for men or women), to blowouts, to makeup, to face painting. The app has standard prices for each of the services, and allows users to quickly book those services even within just a few hours.

Target customers for StyleBee are busy professionals who aren’t necessarily able to schedule time to meet within the regular hours of traditional salons. Or for those who need a last-minute styling or blowout for an event, but don’t have enough time to schedule something last-minute.

Founder Anna Santeramo tells me that was a problem she wanted to solve, after working as an investment banker for Salomon Smith Barney years ago. Due to long hours, she found it difficult to schedule beauty services when she wanted or needed to.

stylebee home Well it took a while, but now there’s a service that will be convenient for pretty much anyone’s schedule, allowing customers to book appointments in their home or office in as little as two hours. The service matches up customers with a StyleBee professional nearby, who will then bring their own tools and do the job on site.

StyleBee is one of those services in the sharing economy that depend on a supply of professionals who can use skills they have in their spare time.

A good number of folks on the StyleBee platform are professional celebrity makeup and hair artists who were referred to Santeramo through mutual friends or by other artists. For them, it’s a good way to make money when the usual salons they work at are closed, or on nights when their services aren’t needed for major events.

Each has an onboarding process that is used to evaluate their skill and their professionalism, especially since they’ll usually be working from a customer’s home or office. And StyleBee has a set of guidelines for its service providers and a set of tools it requires for certain jobs, all to ensure that customers get the best possible experience.

Like other peer-to-peer services, customers can rate their stylists and makeup artists, and vice versa. And when available, they try to send the same service provider if they’re available the next time a customer places an order.

StyleBee has been live in Los Angeles since September, but expects to expand next to the San Francisco Bay Area over the coming months.