Alchemy Salon

Shortly after my poor experience, the salon reached out to me through Unilocal to apologize. They offered a multiple options to help remedy my color. I had already had my hair recolored at another salon, so I decided not to go back for the color fix.
A few weeks later, the stylist that performed my color reached out to apologize. This was something I did not expect and a very nice gesture.
All businesses make mistakes, but it is nice to know Alchemy cares about making sure their customers are happy in the end.

I am really, really surprised that I don’t see Medinah’s name in these reviews… She is AMAZING! I came in yesterday for a cut and highlights, and let me start by saying that I have been doing my hair with the same person for 15 years, so I was a bit skeptical coming in…
Medinah took me in, asked me what I wanted, and the rest was like magic. Initially, they had mistakenly booked me for partial highlights instead of full, but she quickly shuffled things around and was able to accommodate me. She took her time with me, which I really, really appreciated. I have a lot of very thick hair, so my highlights took several hours and after the toner and wash, I was the last person in the salon. Still, she continued to take her time, making sure the color and cut were perfect and finishing it off with an awesome blow dry. She even offered to let me come in for a touch up if I wanted to brighten up the color a bit. Five stars for her skills and service!
The salon itself is also really nice, modern, and clean. They have these reclining massage chair washing stations that are incredible. I will DEFINITELY be back to see Medinah!

Today was my first visit to Alchemy Salon which was amazing! My stylist was Adriana. Adriana is knowledgeable about all types of hair, color, styles, Bantu knots, twists, braiding etc. I have natural hair. She washed my hair with a scalp massage, only trimmed my hair as I asked and curled it with the flat iron. I have made my appointment for next month already. I spoke to the owner who was delightful and pleasant. The front desk staff are so nice and kind. Today was a real treat for me and looking forward to my next visit. Lastly, the salon is clean and beautiful. It was nice to go to a salon and get what you ask for at a reasonable fee; it was easy leaving a tip for Adriana!

I had a great experience today at Alchemy salon. I’ve been here a few times before for haircuts, but today I went in with a mix of brown, blonde, and red dye in my hair hoping to go back to full blonde. Desirea took on my case, which quickly turned into a whole staff effort to help me return to blonde for the summer! After 9 hours (seriously, 9!), a bleached head, highlights on ever strand of hair, dyed roots, three toners, and a haircut, I have an unbelievable result. My hair is beautifully gold and looks really healthy. The staff were so patient and willing to spend all day assisting me. True professionals, and I highly suggest this salon to anyone looking for a place to go for cuts and color.

I had tried a Regis Salon because it was easy to get to at the mall and had found a good stylist at one in another city. That was not the case here in Silver Spring so I was hunting again and found this place. Prices are based on what I think they call the tier of the stylist that is working with you. I have been going to Leah for many months now and she has done a great job (I think they told me she is a tier 1… since I haven’t been to a place like that before I was a tad bit intrigued and worried). The first time she had to work on fixing the bad job the other place did with color and cut. There are a lot of people that come in here, including to her, so I am impressed that she always remembers the wacky things about my hair.
A fabulous bonus is that when you get your hair shampooed they massage your scalp and you’re sitting in a massage chair! I was just getting over a migraine the last time and I only wish I had had this at home because I was so very relaxed.
For everything I get from Alchemy and the compliments I get on my hair it is worth the price to go here and I am so very glad that i found them!

My first time at this salon and I’m so happy that I found it. Becca was AMAZING with ultra blonde highlights and cut. The salon was up to date and had a relaxed atmosphere. Every receptionist that I spoke to from scheduling the appointment to checking out was super friendly. I will definitely be going back to Becca in 8 weeks.

I tried Becca today, a junior apprentice, and was VERY pleased. She was super professional, down to earth, listened, offered great suggestions and did a fabulous job with my cut (and the shampoo she did was great, too!). All in all, very impressed. I would go back to her in a heartbeat. They were also able to accommodate my SAME DAY request for a haircut. Thanks Alchemy for being an fun, non-​uptight salon with reasonable prices.

I recently moved to the area and have been looking for a new salon. I was excited to find Alchemy and reassured by their reviews. However, those giving high reviews definitely did not have the same experience there that I did. I have been there twice (I thought the first bad experience was a fluke so I thought I’d give them a second shot) and both times have been bad. My first time (in December), I called to make my appointment and explained to the girl on the phone what I wanted (baylayage highlights). I also told her I was new to the area and looking for a new stylist. When I arrived at the salon, she had scheduled me with a stylist that I hit it off with, but who informed me she would be leaving the salon in a week. In addition, the person who booked my appointment did NOT book it properly, so she didn’t have time in her schedule to do what I had asked for. So basically, I got my roots touched up and that was it.
My second, and far worse experience was this weekend. I arrived 10 minutes early for my 10am appointment to find a very crowded waiting area because they were having a staff meeting. Fine, no big deal (though I would think you’d schedule a staff meeting on a slower day than a Saturday to avoid the crowd). As the meeting ended, stylists began coming out to greet their clients and take them back. I sat and waited and no one ever came for me. At 10:15am (my appointment was scheduled for 10am), I overheard the girls at the desk talking to another stylist about trying to squeeze me in. I went to the desk and asked if something was wrong and was told that my stylist wasn’t there and they didn’t know until now. How could they not know? They just had a staff meeting. If you didn’t see her, clearly she wasn’t there! Then the phone rang, and it was the stylist and she said she was almost there. So at 10:20am (20 minutes late), she arrived and took me back. I sat and talked with her for a bit about what I wanted (ombré) and she seemed to grasp what I was looking for. I felt like even though she was late, if my hair turned out good, then that would be water under the bridge. She did my hair in record time (I’m assuming she was rushing to catch up since she was behind) and it seemed to go well. However, when she rinsed my hair and started drying it, I was very unhappy to find that my hair was not «ombré» at all. Basically, I paid ombré prices to have her dye my whole head blond (which is not what I wanted AT ALL). As it stands, I have like 1.5−2 inches of dark root and then the rest blond in the front and then about 4 inches of dark in the back (with some weird, random highlights) and the rest blond. I don’t know WHY it’s crooked or why it’s SO. MUCH. BLOND. but it’s not what I asked for or what I saw on their facebook page as far as ombres they have done (unless those pictures are stock photos and not done by their stylists). Now, I will say that I had been booked with a «junior» stylist, but I was ASSURED by the girl who booked my appointment that doing ombré would be no problem. I would have gladly paid full price for a real ombré with a more experienced stylist instead of this mess I got for 40% off (and thank goodness it was discounted because if they had tried to charge me full price for this, I would have had a fit).
I’m usually not one to complain, especially about hair salons because I don’t want to get stylists in trouble and I want to be able to go back. But, I have tried TWICE to get contact information for a manager at Alchemy to send them pics of my hair and ask that they try to fix it and I have gotten ZERO response. I sent an email through their online email system and I called and sat and waited and waited and no one answered, so I left a voicemail and have not received a call back. Clearly it is not important to them to follow up, so it’s not important to me to maintain a relationship with them or protect them or the stylist from the bad review.
I will be going to a competing salon nearby for a consultation for fixing their mistakes and I do not intend to return to Alchemy. I suggest that if you are looking for a salon you can trust with you hair, look elsewhere.

I just got back to alchemy after a 4 year hiatus after moving and was dying for a good haircut. Roxy cut my hair and I have gotten so many compliments it’s ridiculous. She’s an amazing stylist who really listens to what you want. :)

I went to Shideh for an asymmetrical chop, and I can’t recommend her or Alchemy enough! I’ve never gotten an expensive hair cut, but decided that chopping off six inches merited one. Thank you so much!

I went to this salon for the first time last week. I was charged $ 70 to get my hair blown straight. I expected it to be around $ 40 since I have shoulder length, curly hair and my hair is easy to straighten. I tried to call and ask why I was charged this much, but was told that was the correct price for this salon and that stylist. I would expect to pay this much for a hair cut and a style, but $ 70 for 30 minutes of hair blowing is insane.
Also I waited to be seen. The salon was very busy and crammed. I won’t be returning.

So I am new to the DMV, and since I moved out here I have not been to a salon (it’s been 9 months now). My hair was becoming very brittle from me passing the blower and flat ironing my hair. it was TERRIBLE! I DESPERATELY needed a cut. So I found this place off of Unilocal.
I must say, I am VERY pleased with my cut! :) The hair stylist, Marianne, did an amazing job! She did my hair EXACTLY as I pictured. And gave me tips on how to maintain my hair, which I very much needed because I barely know how to care for my hair lol.
Anyways, she did amazing. And I do plan to go back in a couple of months, once the health is back in my hair, in order to color it :).

I went into Alchemy solely based on Unilocal reviews. I was assigned Leah (Lea?) for a cut and color. I was woefully unsure of what I wanted but she managed to pull together everything I asked for into a very good haircut and an amazing color. I’m pretty darn happy :)

Desiree does a fantastic job with color! If you are looking for someone who can do great blonde or you want something totally fun she is the one to do it. She also is pretty great with the scissors. Make the appointment and ask for Desiree! :)

I’ve been here twice, one for a hair cut and once for waxing. The haircut was fine, I don’t love it, but I also don’t hate it (and she basically did what I asked her to). My stylist was Leah, she was really nice and personable. She didn’t really provide any constructive input when I asked her opinion on what haircuts would be good for me. Generally I like to give stylists a bit of creative freedom with my hair. I chose this salon because I thought it’s stylists would suit that mentality. I will definitely go back and give them another shot, but I’m not sure if they’ll end up being my go-​to salon.
I saw Krystal for a waxing. She was really nice and extremely helpful and informative regarding aftercare. I went here for the wax because my normal waxing salon couldn’t get me in before my vacation. Generally I prefer going to salons that exclusively do waxing (I find others are just not as good), but I think I’ll keep this place as my back-​up.

YES!!! My curly hairs are happy again.
I like to think of myself as a low-​maintenance kind of girl, but have lately realized that sometimes, life hands you a high-​maintenance head of hair. That could be a metaphor, or not, but at any rate… my curls are TROUBLE, especially in the last couple years that I’ve been growing them out from a historic pixie-​cut. I swim regularly in over-​chlorinated pools. I bleached them blonde without the help of a trained professional. I cut ill-​advised bangs after everything had finally got to ponytail length. My last stylist tried to help me by thinning things out, which has resulted only in a frizzy, frightening mess.
After sending me off for a really nice shampoo and head massage and turning a sympathetic, non-​judgy ear to my various hair-​abuse confessions, Jody spent half an hour carefully and strategically snipping and shaping, then sent me off to sit under the dryer with a cup of tea, some Hershey’s kisses, and a rack of trashy magazines.
The result? For the first time in memory after a haircut, my hair does not look noticeably shorter. Instead, some of the disaster area has been pruned back and everything else looks much, much better. It’s gonna be a while before I have the long, ringletty, ready-​for-​the-​Ren-​faire-​except-​better-​conditioned hair of my dreams, but in the mean time, Alchemy is making great strides in helping me not walk around looking like a rained-​upon sheep.
In short: ladies with abused, rebellious, curly hairs? Make an appointment with Jody. She knows her stuff.

I have been here three times. First to get a bang trim. I messed up and cut them drunk. The hairdresser fixed them and I felt happy to find a salon like the one I would go to back home in California. I was so happy I decided to go back next month for a bleach. That’s when chaos started.
To book my appointment I was told I need a consultation because I wanted my hair dyed (hombre). I asked if I could schedule my consultation with my first bleach session. I had to wait longer in the week, but the receptionist assured me i could book out a whole afternoon.
I did a preliminary bleach because I know it’s a process and my hair is naturally dark.
I show up. She gets to me thirty minutes late. Get the consultation. Since I was a «fresh» bleach my only option was a conditioning treatment and possible tone. Okay. Cool. Too bad there’s no time. By the time she repeated herself and said how angry she was for me, there was time for nothing and she was booked out the rest of the day. WTF. That’s not what the receptionist said. I flipped out and left. With nothing done and a wasted trip.
I got so mad in my car, I decided to go back in and talk to the manager. She was really nice and grabbed another stylist to talk to me. The stylist told me the same thing. But kept repeating herself. Cool. What can I do today then?
I got a conditioning treatment and toning done while she was in between clients. Cool. Now what? Let’s do a basic dry and see if you like it. But let me hang up your sweater. Cool.
I pay and get talked into their line of products (Phyto) that they suggest. Then the stylist tells me how to wash my hair multiple times. Okay. I know how to wash my hair. I get that you’re trying to help. But just tell me and let me go. SO much time was wasted that day.
Now here’s the kicker. I went back yesterday to get my sweater I had left (stupid me being angry). Receptionist refuses to look for it while I’m there. To save time? I don’t know. She leaves a sticky and sends me on my way. I called back today. No sweater. And I had just purchased it the day I went in to be turned away.
If you’re going for a cut, schedule in advance. Anything else. No. Nope. Nope.
I’m down a sweater and my hair is still dark. FML.

Absolutely love this place.
I don’t have a lot of experience going to other salons, but I thought I’d try this one since it seemed good for «alternative» looks… which is what I was going for.
First off, everyone was very polite and professional and the wait time wasn’t long at all. It is a really cute place, and there is jewelry and products to look at while you wait in the lobby so that’s nice.
The shampooing/​wash experience was absolutely insane. Absolutely luxurious and relaxing. It was hard not to doze off. They had massage chairs and the young lady that did my hair was wonderful. The head massages is where it’s at.
I went and saw Julie, and she did a WONDERFUL job. She is absolutely adorable and sweet, and extremely personable. She wasn’t at all intimidated by what I was asking for (which was to have some of my hair shaved) and the end result really turned out great. It blends well, it’s not choppy and she still made it look feminine like I wanted. I definitely recommend going to see her.
Will definitely be returning to this salon!

I went to Alchemy because of the great reviews it got on Unilocal,and I’m really glad I did! Kate was great, and offered a lot of tips and help on how to improve my hair care routine (without pushing any products!) which I really appreciated (and needed!)
I went to just get a haircut — the ends of my hair were in really bad shape (it was 6 months after my last one… oooops) with a lot of split ends and bleaching from the sun. My hair routine at home is pretty simple because I often am rushed, and as a result my hair often looks pretty bad and I just resort to putting it up.
Kate was extremely patient and helpful with regards to not only my haircut, but about what I should be doing at home. I walked her through my routine, and she gave me some tips about small things I could do to change it and improve my hair. I really appreciated that she recognized the fact that I was low maintenance and didn’t try to offer any huge and time consuming changes that I honestly probably would not do.
My haircut and styling looked great, and Kate sent me home with 3 samples of products to try to see if they would improve my styling.
The shampoo chairs actually have a mini massaging feature built in, which is pretty cool.
The only reason I took away a star is the price — I was charged $ 81 for my shampoo and cut, and I wasn’t sure why. The price listed on their website is $ 58 for a one-​hour women’s cut, so I was surprised that it was so much more. In the moment I forgot to ask for an itemized receipt, so I guess it will remain a mystery! My best guess is that I may have run over time (due to getting a lot of haircare advice!) and was charged a prorated amount.

I’m surprised at all the rave reviews for this place. My 5 – 6 visits here have ranged from acceptable (barely) to downright awful. I started coming here after I moved right across the street in the North Four Corners neighborhood, and it was my last visit here that finally drove me back to my old stylist about 45 minutes away.
I’ve used three of the stylists here. Dan highlighted my hair a couple times, with somewhat mixed experiences although he puts in a good effort. A week before I was getting ready to fly out for my Oahu wedding, he did my roots and only put some kind of glaze on it (applied on wet hair) — I had yellow roots all over by the next day and ended up toting my own mpurple dye to Hawaii (worked out fine, as my highlights matched the orchids in my hair). Otherwise he gave decent cuts. I then booked a haircut with Shideh (?) one and described to her what I wanted by added that my husband preferred something else… She ended up trying to do both and gave me an awful mullet cut that I had to hide by wearing a ponytail to work for 2 months. Yuck! Even the stylist I went back to was wondering why she cut my hair with a blade, as the ends were already getting damaged.
The nail in the coffin though, was when I went for my final color appointment to spruce up my highlights. Dan was not available so they have me Gwen, whom they claimed to be the best. It was not comforting that as I sat in the chair the other stylists exclaimed how exciting it was to do color. It should’ve been another red flag when Gwen started asking someone else how my hair was looking. The end result was the worst color experience I ever had. I asked for a dark cool purplish red and it came out an awful brassy bright ORANGE. Even worse, she somehow turned the highlights that the other stylist meticulously put in into thick chunky lopsided highlights. Wtf?
I was so disgusted and done with his place that I didn’t even try to ask them to fix it. Seriously though, I just wouldn’t go here unless you’re asking for something basic and straightforward. I don’t care how cool you or your shampoo girls look in your hipster glasses and rainbow array of skinny jeans. I went back to my old stylist who made me feel like a million bucks again, all in less time and less money.