PHOTO PROVIDED Simone Shah, proprietor of Alchemy Hair Design, 1307 Park Ave.

Located within the Pajama Factory, 1307 Park Ave., Alchemy Hair Studio, offers a welcoming environment and a wide range of services to a broad customer base, according to owner and operator Simone Shah.

After graduating from high school in 2013, Shah enrolled at Barone Beauty Academy, graduating from there in 2014. Shah has also taken classes through Toni and Guy Academy in New York City.

Shah first began working at the shop she now calls home when it was known as Roots Hair Studio, under Karen Goodridge, who Shah considers a good friend and mentor. Shah purchased the space in June 2022.

“It’s been a dream come true. I’ve always loved working for myself, and I really like the community at the factory,” she said.

“I’ve been hanging out at the Pajama Factory since I was in high school, so the space itself means a lot to me,” Shah said.

Shah offers a range of standard hair studio services, including shampoo, cut and style, kids cuts, eyebrow and lip waxing, bang and beard trim and more.

“I’m always up for teaching people how to style as I do it, and a lot of people really appreciate that,” Shah said.

“I also do a lot of really bright, vivid colors, probably the most in the area. I’ve done Neapolitan ice cream color, sunset color, mermaid color, all over pink, blue, purple and multiple colors,” she added.

While Shah works with all clients and hair types, she is well versed with the trans community.

“I’m a registered safe space on strandsfortrans.org, so that’s a big focus of my clientele,” she said, adding that her prices are not gender-based.

“I do a lot of gender-affirming haircuts. A lot of trans ladies come in looking for help on styling, because a lot of tutorials online are more geared towards people that were raised as women, not someone who is discovering womanhood for the first time later in life, so being just myself in my shop, it’s nice to have that privacy,” Shah said.

Shah first became involved with the trans community after meeting a trans coworker of her ex’s who would become one of her best friends.

Shah’s direction was also heavily shaped by her close friend, Connie, a trans woman who would pass away a few months after they met in 2023.

“She was one of the first people I met in real life that was trans and a really big advocate, and she really inspired me,” she said.

It was at Connie’s urging that Shah would come to be the only Williamsport-area salon registered with Strands for Trans, which helped to expand her clientele.

“I have clients that have moved from out of the area that are trans,” she said.

“I had someone that moved here from Tennessee and found me, so that was really cool. Another, she moved here from Rhode Island and found me on Strands for Trans, which is awesome,” Shah said.

Shah said a good percentage of her clientele has come from word of mouth.

“I have a lot of kids that go to Penn College that want vivid colors, or a trans college student might get their hair cut, and they’re like, ‘I had a good experience with her.’ I’ve had people come in and say, ‘I’m a friend of so and so,’ and I love it,” she said.

“I obviously take non-trans people too, but I just want everyone to know I am very supportive and welcoming, and that’s in part, in honor of my friend that passed away,” Shah said.

Shah said that building up a client base has been slow and steady, something she is content with.

“What matters to me most isn’t the quantity of people, it’s the lasting relationships,” she said, noting that many of her clients have become close friends that she hangs out with.

“I would take less revenue any day to be happy rather than work somewhere where I can’t be true to myself,” Shah said.

“There aren’t many places that are catered towards more alternative cuts, or bright colors or trans or gay people,” she said, adding that that is something she hopes to be part of changing.

“I want to get my teacher’s license someday, and I’d love to be able to teach at Empire or even local tech schools because trans hair care is more than just the social aspect,” Shah said.

“The hormones people are on affects their hair, and can make your hair type change. These are all things I think are really important to learn when you’re a hairdresser that welcomes everyone, which I think we all should be,” She said, though she added that she doesn’t plan on giving up her business anytime soon.

“I want to do hair for many more years, and honestly, I’ll probably always be at the factory,” she said.

“I love my spot and the people, even though I’m a little tucked away, when people find me, they love it. They like the atmosphere. I’m not good at posting on social media, but the people that are meant to find me always do,” Shah said.

“If talking to new people makes you nervous, if you’re neurodivergent, on the spectrum, anything, or you feel like the black sheep or you’re weird, come to me. We can be weird together,” she said.

“I always say ‘your vibe attracts your tribe,'” Shah said.

For more information on Alchemy Hair Studio, check them out at www.simoneshah.glossgenius.com or across social media.