Hannah is amazing! Not only is she really cool, but she's also great at what she does. I can give her something super specific or extremely vague and she always delivers. I'm always getting compliments on my hair, and I couldn't recommend her more. read more

So I went in for a trim and blow out, Piper who did my hair was nice but she barely touched my hair when shampooing and conditioning, I could've done a way better job myself at home, my hair left feeling very dry & not clean unfortunately I wasted $100 on something I could've done at home. She also left me at the shampoo bar for over ten minutes with wet hair and a cold rag on my forehead lol... super strange! Also all the girls in there were talking crap about another girl which is superrrrr unprofessional. Everyone here seems extremely stuck up i definitely would never go back or recommend anyone to this awful place! You really need to do better! read more

First of all everyone is so welcoming and sweet!! I adore coming to this salon. First thing they ask when you walk in: "Hi! Are you waiting? Do you need anything? Would you like a glass of water/some tea?" So polite and kind. I get my hair done by Kayla and have never had a bad cut by her. I have really wide waves/ringlet curls that were healing from years of damage and she's really brought back the volume and health in them since our first session. The atmosphere is relaxing and perfect after a long week. Could not recommend a better salon in the capital region. read more

I hope it's temporary, but things seem off. The owner doesn't seem to be there often and not having a dedicated receptionist makes if very hard to reach anyone. Having to text is impersonal and random people respond if there is any response at all. The personal touch and feeling that customers matter is getting lost, and a cut and color is a four-hour appointment. I've not had a cut and color take this long other places. No special process took place when I was there, and I can't take this much time off every time I have a cut and color touch up. The prices have also become unattainable for some long time customers including with needing to come back so often for touch ups. It's really unfortunate because no salon was better when they were at the top of their service game. read more

I am going to leave a couple of stars because the haircut itself was fine. What was not fine, was the out-of-character behavior of my hair stylist. I am not going to mention her name in this review but if the owner wants to reach out to me privately, I can provide more information. My stylist immediately became confrontational and accusatory toward me because I supposedly did not follow her directive on how to properly care for my hair. Many people, like myself, have fallen on hard times and we can't afford pricey hair products anymore. We have no choice but to buy our products at local drug stores. Additionally, some of us have different learning styles and we can't always remember everything the stylist tells us. If the stylist is concerned we're not following their directive on how to care for our hair, they should pull us aside privately to ask us if everything is okay, not embarrass us in front of their entire store. I am not the confrontational type. I was scared to speak up in the moment to tell the stylist how rude she was being. I pretended like everything was fine but it was not. I made the decision never to return to The Alchemist Salon within five minutes of being verbally degraded. On a side note, even if everything went smoothly, I wouldn't be able to afford the haircuts there anymore anyway because their prices are out of reach for me now. I can't afford $80+ for a haircut. read more

Izzy fit me in last minute for a magical hair wash/scalp massage. The chairs and sink are beyond comfortable! She used a number of amazing products and tools to give me the best service :) thank you! read more

Logging in just to say, go give your business for Hannah, the stylist I saw at Alchemist last month. I wanted a complete reset on my hair---we ended up deciding on a combo of several color processes and a very different cut than I usually have. Hannah was incredibly generous with her time, both during the free consultation and the appointment I booked. She was extremely open to hearing what I wanted and put a lot of thought into making it work. And I absolutely love what she did. Picture is from the appointment day. But it looks almost this good 3 weeks later, and all I do is shake it out, scrunch some non-fancy curl gel and air dry. read more

Alchemists Salon - Hair Salons Near Me - Albany, New York

Years ago, I decided to see if I could find the best hair stylist in the Albany, NY area. I searched reviews, I asked friends and customers of mine, I went deep down the Google rabbit hole, and I ended up learning about this stylist named "Katie" everyone was raving about. Armed with this solid lead, I found examples of her work online, and my eyebrows went up in surprise. This was NYC Master Stylist-level work I was seeing. She couldn't really be in Albany, could she? So, obviously, I scheduled a haircut with her. She cut my hair, it looked incredible, and then, almost immediately, the pandemic hit and I stopped going out into public. That haircut grew out untouched for THREE YEARS and still managed to look incredible. Wow. During that first haircut, I learned from Katie that she had just signed the lease to open her own salon. Flash-forward to 2023, and The Alchemists Salon is Katie's masterpiece. She crafted every aspect of the salon directly from her own personal style (which is incredible, btw...wait until you see the bathroom wallpaper), and she has surrounded herself with other stylists who meet her incredibly high standards, which is not an easy task. I can personally attest to the level of talent inside that salon, because every friend I've referred (and I've referred many) has walked out of there with the best haircut of their life, and every single one of them has seen a different stylist, not just Katie. Wow again. As for the salon itself, the place is a dream, the stylists are a dream, and the added icing on an already fabulous cake is that the products are a non-toxic dream, too. During my last haircut (the newest best haircut of my life), Katie gave me a sample of some natural magic pink goop in a unique, refillable glass bottle. It's made out of bananas and other natural ingredients, smells like heaven (not bananas), and tamed my impossible hair without making it crunchy. Need I say it again? Wow. This is a salon for kind, open-hearted folks, the kind of people who passionately love and support their fellow human beings regardless of any differences. If you don't fit that description, this isn't going to be the right place for you. If you DO fit that description (and are ready for a rockin' haircut), welcome home. read more

Getting your hair cut in the time of Covid-19 can be a little strange but it had been 4 months since the last professional haircut so it was time. I was greeted with hand sanitizer and a temp check. Both hair stylists were masked and gloved. I've been going to Betsy for haircuts for quite a few years and she recently moved to this new salon on Madison Ave. The space is bright and comfortable. Betsy managed to fix my diy (actually husband di) haircut and left me feeling good and ready to re-enter society. read more

Ok so I've never done a review on here but I felt the need to make a review for this. It's been really hard to find a hairstylist that I can trust to do my hair really well. Im a guy so my hair is short and I've hardly ever gotten a haircut that I really liked where I felt like it fit me. This was until I came here. I was searching the internet for hair salons and came across The Alchemist. I looked at the reviews and they were all great. I made an appointment and after my hair was cut I absolutely fell in love with my hair. I have bad sensory issues with hair touching my face and I also have really thick hair so that's always been something that other hairstylists haven't been able to understand. But they did here. They used texturizing scissors to make my hair less thick but also made it look really cool. Everyone was so incredibly nice and I 100% recommend to go to The Alchemist Salon if you're looking for amazing service and an amazing haircut!!! read more

The vibes in this salon are immaculate. The services provided were exactly as we discussed as well. If you're looking for a salon which will be inclusive to you as a LGBTQIA+ person, look no further than Kayla. Kayla was genuine, very skilled, fun to talk with, and made us feel welcome. The surroundings and furnishings are so lovely inside, it's clean, and the sink stations are comfortable (hard when you're a short human). Reasonable pricing too. I left looking and feeling brand new and so did my daughter. They offer services with cruelty free, and low toxicity products which smelled amazing and did not create any allergic reaction for us. We're so glad we found them! read more

Being new to the area, I was so hesitant to choose a new salon. I was so relieved that The Alchemist salon provided super thorough 15 minute consults. Such a great move on their part. I met with Kevin. Kevin was so professional, warm and knowledgeable. He instantly made me feel comfortable and we hashed out an action plan to make me feel like a human unicorn again. On my appointment day, he went over what we discussed and even took notes on what we did for next time. It took all of my willpower not to ugly cry WITH JOY when he was finished. I not only looked beautiful but felt it inside and out as well. What an incredibly beautiful space to have a routine transformation in as well. They also have a keen grasp on low tox products and processes which is a HUGE plus in my book. I HIGHLY recommend all of the fabulous artists at this comfortable and inclusive space read more

This salon is amazing! The stylist are all nice and engaging. The stylist, Kevin ( who cuts my fine curly hair) has done a phenomenal job and I could not be happier! Try this Salon, you will not be disappointed! read more

During the pandemic, I stopped coloring my hair and let the grey grow back. It looked horrible, even after 4 months. I didn't want to go back to one-color dyeing. I didn't want to go all grey. I didn't know what to do AT ALL. I met Katie for the first time yesterday, per my daughter's recommendation. Katie listened to me, as she examined my hair and carefully assessed the situation. Then ... SHE WORKED HER MAGIC!! What she did was nothing short of a miracle - the colors in my hair are interwoven, gracefully - no color lines, the grey covered partially but not masked, my natural colors highlighted. I started to cry - I couldn't quite express what I had in mind and yet Katie understood my intention better than I did - and did her ALCHEMY! WOW! I felt safe with Covid precautions, the style and design of her salon is stunningly simple and inviting, the O&M products she uses are brilliant (no ugly chemical odors and they do an incredible job)! I am over the top delighted. And grateful. Thank you, Katie. (And to anyone reading this, you're in for a treat!) read more

First of all, Cory is the best, I recommend him to everyone. I followed him from his last spot. He always gets exactly what I mean and my hair always looks and feels perfect. The salon itself is welcoming and a lovely space, and frankly the bathroom wallpaper is perfection. read more