Alexander Salon & Spa — Attraction in Brookline

UPDATE: I called the salon to let them know I was upset with how my hair came out, and they had me come in same-day to fix the issue. The owner (Sam) helped me this time, and he was absolutely phenomenal. He was not supposed to come in today but did to address my concerns. I am very grateful and would absolutely recommend his services!

ORIGINAL REVIEW: I came in today for a partial foil with Santiago. It may have been my failure to communicate, but I ended up with hair that looks fine objectively speaking, but is nothing at all like what I wanted or the pictures that I showed him. I specifically told Santiago that I wanted to keep my natural hair color, but add some "low maintenance" highlights (see inspiration pics). What I got was a ton of highlights, most of which go all the way to my root. I am heartbroken. I haven't colored my hair since getting a blonde balayage in about 2016, and I was just looking for a few highlights to mix things up. Now I am basically blonde again, which I absolutely did not want.

I would have given 0-1 stars for this service because it is SO important to understand what the client wants before actually doing work - and I think Santiago did not attempt at all to understand what I wanted. But I can't fault him on the technique or overall look at the end - objectively speaking my hair is definitely not a disaster, it is just not what I wanted.

In addition to the color, I got a cut - the cut was fine, he erred on the side of cutting too little as opposed to too much (which is the better of the two, I guess - can't glue it back on!).

(Also, as an FYI, the salon prices were different than what was quoted online. It was an additional $30 over what I was expecting to pay based on my booking quote.)

Ordinarily this would be no big deal and I'd see if another hairdresser could fix it to what I wanted in the first place. But I have several upcoming events (a work event and a trip abroad/engagement party) that are making this a much more stressful situation for me.

I have read some great reviews and some bad reviews about the salon, so I took a gamble booking with them last-minute for the first time. This is how that gamble went. Fine looking hair, just not the hair I...

Let me start by saying that I was a customer of Alexander Salon since 2021 - I used to get my haircut by Hayder until he moved and I will unfortunately not be returning after this experience which was pretty terrible from beginning to end.

I was hoping for a cowboy-copper, brownish red color with red rich hues and I left the salon with almost-purple hair - a cool-toned red with almost no warmth at all, after showing multiple reference photos and being clear about my exact desired color. My stylist, Birkan, made me wait for 45 minutes before I sat down in the chair to have my hair washed - I can understand if a salon is running a bit behind, but to be left waiting for almost an hour is ridiculous. He would periodically leave throughout my appt - my dye was left on for 55 minutes instead of the 35 he told me it would take because he was busy with another client. He walked away during my cut to have a chat in the backroom with some of the other employees - it felt like he took a break in the middle of our appointment. I just felt completely ignored and de-prioritized throughout the entire process.

I also felt like their reception was rude and inattentive. When I walked in for my appointment, the receptionist asked me if I was getting dye on my whole hair or just "covering my gray hairs" (I'm 25 years old and wasn't aware I had any visible gray hairs). When I called to make my appointment, I asked for a price estimate and was told that the cost would be $175-190...my total was $200. To have such an awful experience and then have to pay $10 more than the high-end of the estimate was the cherry on top of an awful experience. At the end of the appointment, the receptionist told me she didn't even recognize me because I looked "like a different person" ... that could not have been further from what I wanted going into this appointment.

Alexander salon has lost a...

Started off on a shaky note as the hairdresser Eddie was late to the salon for my appointment (not a super big deal). During the shampoo and wash, he was a bit messy and accidentally sprayed water down the front and inside of my shirt and either did not notice or just didn’t address it. As for the haircut, I asked for subtle fringe curtain bangs and my hair cut to jaw length. I showed several inspo photos but the result was disappointing as the “bangs” were choppy, uneven, and had no subtlety. The hair cut itself, aside from the bangs, was also uneven with some longer strands sticking out. Not sure if the hairdresser was just not used to working with my type of hair? They also provided me with service I did not request without communicating that they would be doing so and charged me for that service. Fortunately, they were understanding when I called to ask about the charge and refunded me for it. Giving two stars instead of one because the salon was clean, the people were nice enough, and they were understanding about the mistake. Other people seem to have had better luck here but I would not return.

Edit: I came back to add a star. The first month of the haircut was not my favorite, but it grew out really well. After 1.5-2 months it was a great haircut. Super bouncy, layered, and had a lot of personality. I ended up liking it a lot, it just took a month of growing out before I did. I also want to acknowledge that the owner reached out to me personally and offered a complimentary haircut to redo the original cut. I did not accept, but I appreciated how professional and kind they were in...