Pure Alchemy Salon — Attraction in Seattle

If you want your hair completely butchered and have a hairstylist and owner who blatantly lie to you and continue to screw with you months after dealing with them, go here. I went to Tisha and if she had admitted up front that she was unable to do what I asked for, that would have been fine and I wouldn’t have proceeded. But at no point did she say or give ANY indication she couldn’t do what I asked for after I showed the pics of what I wanted, which was a milk tea colored full balayage. Instead, I was left with an all-over blotchy orange and yellow bleach job and told that it just looked orangey because of the lighting in the salon. At that point I had been there for hours, was exhausted and had to go to the airport so I stupidly paid with a generous tip. After seeing how awful it looked in clear lighting and once I returned home, I contacted the stylist and then the owner to ask for a refund as I live out of town and could not return for a correction. The salon owner Amy Colleen Oswald admitted that what I was given was badly done and not what I asked for at all. I was completely civil and polite in my request and thanked her for understanding. Then the stylist Tisha refused to refund me and the owner reneged on what she had told me and said she couldn’t do anything about it. They then agreed to a partial refund after telling me hair salons never give refunds (load of bs, do not believe this, I know hairstylists and friends in other states and after talking to them they said this is an utter lie considering what I was let with) The owner agreed to pay part of it after condescending to me and telling me a sob story about how I was taking money away from her personally after she had spent so much on Christmas. Even after all that, I let it go and thanked her for the money she said she’d send. She didn’t send it for weeks until I reminded her. I’ve now had to pay twice as much as their original ridiculous expensive price to get a color correction and even more to purchase multiple products to try to deal with the damage, but it cannot be fixed and I will need to cut a significant amount off for it to look healthy again. According to the owner Amy, the paltry in comparison refund they sent to me is “more than fair” despite all this. After years spent growing out my hair to this length. Now, the owner has the audacity to be contesting the refund money she sent to me on PayPal saying she made no such transaction. So while I was willing to not give you horrible people a bad review despite you screwing me over entirely financially, that certainly isn’t the case anymore and I will be reviewing you everywhere and telling everyone I know in Seattle about my experience. Pics below, three pics of my hair after it was done, three of the example photos I showed her for the color I wanted. This salon is a joke,...

Colleen Owlsley is a genius! From the first time I went to Colleen and she looked at my jet black hair with fire-engine red stripes, and she sweetly told me she does "pretty hair" and asked if I wanted pretty hair too, I have not trusted my hair to anyone else. After years of stylists never listening and thinking they know better than me, Colleen is a breath of fresh h-air ;) (and a badass with a pair of scissors & some color). She always listens to me, but also will make honest, well thought out recommendations based on experience as to what will look best on me. After 15 years in her chair, I give her free reign to do what she wants, trusting she will always give me "pretty hair" and in those 1.5 decades she has never let me down with anything less than amazing.

Even while living in LA for years, (with 1 exception that resulted in a Joan Jet haircut from a "hot celeb stylist" that had me sobbing in his chair), I would come back to Seattle to see Colleen whenever I needed a fresh cut or color. She really is THAT good.

I have sent my friends and family to her, and am stopped on a regular basis and asked who does my hair. I have followed her in the few times she has moved salons, and would follow her to Timbuktu if I had to.

I have learned the hard way how rare a great stylist is, and Colleen is amazing. I would recommend her to absolutely anyone: man, woman, and even dog (she has dyed some of my pups fur before and...

I’ve been getting my hair cut by Colleen for 18 years — longer than most celebrity marriages and some houseplants. She is the bob whisperer. Seriously. Her cuts are precise, flattering, and somehow always feel fresh and modern, even though I’ve stuck with a bob most of the time. She keeps it interesting with subtle variations, so I never feel stuck in a haircut rut.

Colleen did my hair for my wedding back in 2010 — a very chic, downtown soirée — and I still get compliments when people see the photos. That should tell you something.

As someone with Asian hair, I can’t emphasize enough how skilled she is. My hair is straight, thick, and not the easiest to shape — but Colleen knows exactly how to work with it. That said, I’d recommend her to anyone with hair. If you’ve got it, she’ll make it look amazing.

Her salon, Pure Alchemy, is stylish and welcoming, and she’s always got a great story, a sharp sense of humor, and a pulse on what’s cool without ever being pretentious. She’s hip and highly professional — which is rarer than you'd think.

Go see her. Your hair...