Business ProfileforAlchemy Hair Salon

RUN, do not walk, VERY FAR FAR FAR AWAY FROM this salon. This is going to be a long review but the moral of the story is to STAY CLEAR from Lauren and from Alchemy Salon. This is my first online review of any type in my 30+ years of existence in this world. The experience was so horrendous that I felt I had to write a review. The ordeal happened when Lauren completely thinned out my hair and ruined the amazing natural volume I had waited years to have. Living in Orlando for 15 years I have searched far and wide for a good hairstylist which to this day haven't found. I found my hairstylist in Miami, a true artists, but because of Covid I did not want to go there so I decided to go to Alchemy after looking for salons online. WHAT A MISTAKE!!!!!! I went to the consultation with Lauren and went prepared with multiple pictures of what I did not want or liked. I was VERY clear when telling her my likes and dislikes, including my want for the amazing natural volume I had to stay untouched, maybe trim a little here and there but not more because I hated hair with no volume. The first time Lauren cut my hair was ok, nothing drastic or difficult, just a trim, exactly what I wanted. The second time I went to her because I had a cutting mishap at home, where about a 4 inch wide piece of hair was cut 4 1/2 inches shorter than the rest. So I went to her to have the ends of my hair evened out and to get a face frame, NOTHING ELSE. She asked me "Do you want me cut the volume like the LAST TIME?", (the last time being when I had specifically told her I hated lack of Volume and to only trim a little here or there). I answered yes, thinking that "like last time" meant, exactly like last time, leaving my natural hair volume almost completely like it was. I saw she was using a razor to cut my hair for about 30 minutes bit I trusted her, as she is SUPPOSED to be listening to the client and she is supposed to know what she is doing. When she finished I saw that the whole floor was completely covered in my hair, my mom who was accompanying me was in complete shock of the amount of hair that was cut. Then Lauren handed me to a helper to style my hair and I found it a little weird that she kind of insisted on me having my hair styled wavy, I found it curious but said yes. My hair was blow dried and styled wavy and I left very happy UNTIL I GOT HOME and the wave started to go back to normal. OH MY GOD!!!! I could not believe what I was seeing and feeling on my hair!!! Lauren had cut 70% of my hair volume!!!!!!!Exactly what I had told her multiple times I absolutely hated, along with shag haircuts and the v shape in the back. Also she did a face frame that starts on the top of my head where the ear is, WHAT!!!! The "face frame" I can deal with BUT the 70% OF MY VOLUME CUT?, which I had waited 7 years for it to be like that and I specifically told her I loved it the way it was?!!!! I can't even look at my hair, she somehow, when cutting out ALL my volume created layers that start at the height of the ears around my head, so I ended up with weird volume on the too of the head and almost NO volume on the rest of my hair from the ears down!!! Even when in a pony tail and when I wash it it literally looks like I have 9 (because I counted) strips of hair and nothing else. I look like I lost all my hair by sticking my hair over a garbage disposable and turning it on. What Lauren did is absolutely incomprehensible, it is exactly what I told her multiple times I did not want and hated. I called the day after and explained everything and the salon gave me an appointment for the following weeks. After a couple of days of looking at my hair and crying I couldn't wait any longer and called the salon and asked to be seen sooner for a consult. They told me they had me booked with Lauren the following week to cut my hair again in order to fix it. CUT AGAIN!!!!! I told the receptionist that cutting too much, as I had stated before, had been the problem and that cutting it again would not restore my volume, OBVIOUSLY. They told me I could go the next day for a consult, I accepted it and went the next day. I sat down with Lauren and explained, yet again, everything. I was calm, not rude, did not raise my voice but firm about what had happened. She apologized etc...... (said everything they are told to) but just told me there was nothing to do. I said that the only solution was to put it extensions in order to, at least, have volume, albeit fake, until my hair grew again. (Let me say I have never had extensions and is not something I have ever wanted because my hair had, naturally, the volume people get when they pay for extensions). She told me they could not do that because it was expensive. So they are willing to damage your hair by completely ignoring clients requests and imposing on them what they think are "in style" hair cuts, something I noticed when I first went to a salon, it being in a hipster area and everyone that works there imparting that energy (which was actually something I had like when I first walked in but later, after talking to Lauren in the consult, noticed they tended to try to impose on everyone who sat on the chair). I told her I wanted to speak to the manager and she said yes and brought her in. I explained everything again, calm and collected, and she said she was sorry for the miscommunication cation. Miscommunication? I told her there was no miscommunication because I had showed her pictures and told Lauren multiple times what it was I wanted and Lauren had supposedly understood. It was no communication, it was Lauren making a big mistake and trying to cover it up and doing whatever she wanted and ignoring what the client had asked her to do. I asked about the extensions and she told me the person they had doing extensions was new at it was expensive and the salon was not willing fix my hair by doing that. I'm supposed to believe that the extensions are done by a complete newbie that doesn't know very well how to do it, but they still charge the expensive prices for the service? Sure. The part of it being expensive I do understand but that is not my problem. If they break it they have to fix it. If it turns out to be too expensive for them then that should be an incentive for them to hire stylists that actually listen to clients and now what they are doing in order for there to be less expensive fixes on their part. They completely refused to do the extensions and just told me that if I wanted Lauren could tell me how to style my hair for it to look fuller. I wash my hair every other day, and I'm not willing (and never have) to be using products and/or heat tools to make my hair more voluminous. I have never needed to, my hair was naturally voluminous. Still, I told Lauren to go ahead and use some product on my hair. She went ahead and used two products and heat styled it. Like I told her, it was a nice MIRAGE. They gave me a refund for the haircut and gave one of the two products for free. WOW, everything was solved, NOT. First a single product will not last the years that it will take for my hair to grow back and also I will not be using product and heat every other day and ruin what is left of my hair. As for the refund, could not care less about it, what I wanted was my naturally voluminous hair to not be touched (like I had stated) and if it was, at least for them to fix it, if it turned out to be expensive for them that was not my problem. Now I have two options, to leave my hair grow, the 7 years I had waited before, and not cry every time I look at my hair (looks horrible down, in a ponytail, or in a bun and cannot do any braids or anything else because of thinned out and how much little hair I have from the middle down), cut it off at ear level, or pay out of pocket hundreds of dollars every 4-6 weeks for extensions (in Miami OF COURSE, never stepping foot inside Alchemy again!). Tired of having hairstylist think they know more than their clients. Definitely will always go to my hairstylist in Miami, where I am extremely happy to pay $200 for my haircut, as I can go there with peace of mind and relax knowing that the person doing my hair actually knows what she's doing and will always listen to what her client wants.