Natural Alternatives

I emailed the letter below to Natural Alternatives over a week ago and haven’t received a response. I got a mediocre haircut. In addition to the complaints detailed below, the stylist said that my last haircut was uneven, and she’d need to take off an inch to even it up. (I *liked* my previous haircut, which had also been at Natural Alternatives…). Anyway, here I am. I don’t really think I’ll be returning, which feels rather sad.
Natural Alternatives —
I was not happy at my most recent visit.
1) The first thing the stylist did was chastise me about my use of Dove shampoo. I get that she believes that the salon products are superior quality, but I did not enjoy sinking lower in the chair as she went on and on: «Those products build-​up – WAX-​WAX-​WAX. That’s going to cause breakage and splits ins. That’s *not* going to help you grow out your hair. Why would you spend $ 40 on a haircut and then buy $ 1 bottle of shampoo?» Etc., etc. All I said was, «Uh-​huh.» She should have gotten the message… I like paying for a nice service and will leave a suitable tip. I’m *not* spending 10x more on shampoo than I do with my perfectly serviceable drugstore brand. Let it go. I’m the customer. I’m perfectly satisfied using Dove. I’m right, right?
2) Suddenly, in the midst of combing out my hair, the stylist peered at my head and started picking at my hairs as if scavenging for a bug. It was mildly terrifying. Do I have lice??, I thought. Then she grabbed a few hairs near my crown and ripped. «Grays! I got you, girl!» …ouch. Wow. I am in mid-​20s. While I don’t love the idea of having a gray hair or two, I would have appreciated a heads up. And I would think a stylist would never start pulling out someone’s hair without asking first. maybe I would rather let my hair go… natural?
Anyway…I’ve had positive experiences in the past. This most recent visit just wasn’t pleasant. At all.
–Meg

Whenever I go on long business trips I stress about where to go to get my hair done. It is always scary to go to a new salon and trust your hair to someone you don’t know!
I always trust the aveda brand when I go new places because they seem to have higher standards for their employees.
Today I saw Dexter for a root touch up and all over tone and I was not disappointed. I am currently rocking the white hair trend and Dexter did an amazing job with my hair… I can be pretty picky but his attention to detail caught any spots and the result was flawless color! The salon was pleasant and relaxing and the stylists were friendly and attentive. Thanks again Dexter!

Let me say right off the bat that I had a great experience at this salon today. The only reason why I took off a star was because my appointment at this location (Western Plaza) was somehow entered as an appointment at the West Town Mall, miles away from where I wanted to be. Because of this, I had to wait until 10:30 AM for an appointment that was supposed to be 9 AM! Luckily, it was a Saturday, and I had errands to do, so I went off and did those first and just came back to the salon afterwards.
Now for the good part:
I was quickly ushered back to get a shampoo and a DIVINE scalp massage from Chad. My favorite part was when the chair he sat me in turned out to be a massage chair, so I had a spine massage while I was getting my scalp massaged! I almost fell asleep, it felt so good.
Natasha did my haircut and she did a great job. She asked me questions about my hair, how I styled it, what products I used, etc, and made sure the cut we decided on would be compatible with my routine. One of my pet peeves is when I tell the stylist I only want a certain amount of inches cut off, but they go ahead and cut off much more! Natasha was very careful about not cutting off more than what I was comfortable with. After the cut, she explained all the products that she used on my hair, but wasn’t pushy at all about me purchasing them. She gave me a great blowout afterwards — I got compliments from random people all day afterwards!
Lastly, the proces were SO reasonable! Granted, I just moved here from Chicago, but I paid HALF what I would’ve paid over there. Such a nice surprise…
I am definitely coming back, and I’m so happy I found my salon here in Knoxville.

This location of Natural Alternatives moved from Homberg to Western Plaza a few years back. I have visited this location only for spa services; I have not received a haircut here. I got the Recovery Facial from Erica. I can say, it was well, well worth the money. First, the spa area of the building is completely seperated from the hair salon area, giving it a more intimate, relaxed mood than the bustling vibe of the salon. The robes provided are super soft and comfy. At the beginning of the facial, you get a super relaxing foot soak, during which Erica asked about my current skin issues. She then selected a series of treatments based upon our conversation. I was incredibly pleased with the results. There was no pressure to buy at the end, either, like many spas. She gave me a sheet with the products she’d used and I did end up picking up a few. The atmosphere, attitude, and comfort of the experience made the $ 80 facial worth it for relaxation alone, not to mention the results I saw on my skin. I will definitely go back to Erica.