Alchemy & I is an award-winning hair salon on Coleman Place in the heart of Palmerston North's CBD, built around the idea that a hair appointment should feel like a genuine escape from the outside world. The salon first made its name in the UK in 2019 before founder Haylee Benton brought the concept to her hometown, supported by award-winning L'Oréal Colour Specialist Sean Butt, who leads and educates the team of stylists.
Every visit is designed as a VIP experience: a concierge team welcomes you, introduces your dedicated 'Alchemist' and takes your order from a fully licensed bar serving cocktails, a huge gin selection, wine, beer, soft drinks and classic tea and coffee. Thoughtful touches run throughout, from bespoke head massages and weighted blankets to a tranquil back-wash bar and the ability to order magazines or phone chargers from your chair via the salon app.
The salon covers cutting, colouring (including bespoke balayage), a sociable Blow-Dry Bar serving blow-drys with bubbles, and hair spa and treatment services designed to protect your hair and nourish your soul. It is proudly gender neutral, with prices set by hair length rather than gender.
Adding to the convenience, Alchemy & I shares its characterful building with sister company Cecily Day Spa, making it easy to combine hair and beauty treatments in one visit. Bookings can be made online, Afterpay is available, and gift cards make an easy treat.
Step through the doors of Alchemy & I on Coleman Place and the outside world quickly fades. This award-winning hair salon sits in the heart of Palmerston North's CBD, built on a simple but ambitious idea: a visit to the hairdresser should feel like a genuine escape — glamorous, tranquil and completely tailored to you.
The Alchemy & I story began in the UK in 2019, where the salon's knack for delivering a transformative high-street experience quickly earned it a devoted following. Salon entrepreneur and founder Haylee Benton later brought the concept to her beloved hometown of Palmerston North, supported by award-winning L'Oréal Colour Specialist Sean Butt, the self-described Architect of Alchemy, who leads and educates the team. Today, stylists ranging from apprentices to principal and creative Alchemists carry that vision forward, combining proven science with an artistic eye to turn clients' dreams into a stylish reality.
Colour is a calling card here. The team includes L'Oréal Colour Specialists, and bespoke balayage sits alongside full colouring services and precision cutting as signature work. Every appointment starts with understanding your vision: first-timers get a consultation that blends colour matching, face shape profiling and even personality testing to shape a style that genuinely suits. Bigger transformations — a dramatic shift from light to dark, for instance — may be planned as a hair journey across a couple of appointments, always mapped out with you on the day.
Then there's the Blow-Dry Bar, something of an institution. Blow-drys are served with bubbles, making it a popular warm-up for special occasions or a catch-up with friends before a night out. Pricing is refreshingly straightforward too: this is a gender-neutral salon, and costs are set by hair length rather than gender.
Alchemy & I is openly obsessed with details. A concierge team welcomes you on arrival, introduces your dedicated Alchemist and takes your drinks order from a fully licensed bar — cocktails, a huge gin selection, wine, beer, soft drinks or classic tea and coffee — with bottomless bubbles on offer. Throughout your visit they remain on hand for refills, magazines or phone chargers; download the Alchemy & I app and scan the QR code at your station to order without leaving your seat. Pampering touches extend to bespoke head massages and weighted blankets, while the tranquil back-wash bar sets the tone for a proper unwind.
Hair spa and treatment services are carefully designed to protect your hair and nourish your soul — ideal when your strands need some serious TLC. Before you leave, your Alchemist talks through aftercare products so your look lasts well beyond the chair, then books your next appointment.
Convenience is part of the appeal: Alchemy & I shares its unique, passion-filled building with sister company Cecily Day Spa, making it easy to combine hair and beauty treatments in a single trip — genuine hair-and-beauty convenience in the CBD.
Practicalities are covered as well. The salon opens Tuesday and Wednesday from 9am to 5pm, stays open until 8pm on Thursdays for after-work appointments, runs until 6pm on Fridays and 4pm on Saturdays. Bookings can be made online, Afterpay is available, and gift cards make an easy treat for someone else — or yourself.
Whether you're after a restyle, a show-stopping colour change, or simply an hour of bubbles and a beautiful blow-dry with friends, Alchemy & I delivers a polished, playful take on the modern salon visit — right in the middle of Palmerston North.