The most trying part of getting ready to go out – be it an important meeting, a special dinner or a more formal event – is undoubtedly getting your hair right. Whether it’s trying to add volume, coping with frizz or placing that divine Dior jewelled slide, never mind achieving a bouncy shiny blow-dry, the process is enough to make you want to down your styling tools and stay home.

Having had to abandon some of the regular salon habits we once swore by, it can relieve stress to get back in the grooming groove. With the blow-dry the first casualty of lockdown (if we did have access to a hairstylist, cut and colour were the top priorities) it’s time to find a place you love to have this lovely – and relatively affordable – a treat for yourself or for someone else who might literally need a lift. Now, with restrictions eased and our social lives getting busier, imagine a quick yet luxurious blow-dry that will make you feel like a million dollars during the busy festive season?

It turns out that Dublin’s most posh and understated hotel is also a favourite chic place to get a blow dry. The Merrion is the ultimate pre-party pitstop because as well being home to the Hair Salon, The Merrion Spa offers beauty services, manicures and pedicures that can be booked too, along with THE best massages and facials. It also has post-work friendly opening hours (Wed-Fri, 9.30am-8.30pm; Sat, Sun, Bank hols, 10am-7.30pm). Here, the blow-dry – as big and bouncy or as smooth and sleek as you like – is done in double-quick time. Hair is transformed from flat to fabulous in just 30 minutes (a little more if your hair is long), leaving time for nails next door in the luxury of The Merrion Spa.

A bijou flower-filled spot with massage chairs at the basins, and the scent of delicious-smelling products by Kevin Murphy in the air, The Hair Salon is far from a dry-and-dash affair. Here a blow-dry warrants careful attention and an expert consultation. After assessing the condition of scalp and hair, the stylist (on this occasion, the well-informed Paula) will talk you through the options, the treatment, and the combination of products for optimal effect on your particular hair type. Afterwards you will leave with silky locks, teased into the blow-dry style of your choice plus tips on how to make your everyday blow-dry look lovelier and last longer.

Blow-dry from €35, The Merrion Hair Salon, The Merrion Spa, Upper Merrion Street, Dublin 1; 01 603 0759; thespa@merrionhotel.com. Open: Wed-Fri, 9.30am-8.30pm; Sat, Sun, Bank hols, 10am-7.30pm. www.merrionhotel.com