Amber Woodall

Amber, owner and lead stylist of Alkali Hair Studio and Beauty Lab, is a long-time resident of Winston-Salem with more than 20 years of professional hair and makeup experience. Originally from Chattanooga, Tennessee, she started doing “kitchen hair” when she was 10 years old, but didn’t fully embrace her hair talents until she was pursuing a degree in Fine Art and Business. It was during this time that Amber realized her love of art and color theory could be applied to hair. So at age 20, she combined her two passions and never looked back.

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At the first salon she ever worked for, her natural talent and aptitude for working with hair led her to become an in-house color and cutting educator in record time. Six years later, she was recruited by Matrix to teach under their Logics hair color division as a national educator. This opportunity sparked Amber to open her own salon. After researching the salon industry in the Piedmont Triad area, she saw that there was a shortage of high-end specialty salons and so Alkali Hair Studio was born. 

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Opening Alkali deepened Amber’s passion for hair. Her experience as a national educator and keen business sense not only helped her build a successful salon but brought out her natural ability to lead and nurture other stylists. She loves serving her customers and helping her team grow both personally and professionally and believes in doing so with kindness and respect.

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While she’s crazy for color, many of her clients are surprised to learn that cutting is actually one of her favorite hair services. Amber loves solving the “puzzle” of fitting the client’s needs and style preferences with angles that flatter their faces. Due to serious health issues and allergies that have left her very reactive to chemicals and mineral oils, she's fallen in love with Alkali's new line, Back of Bottle (BOB)—these products don't aggravate her condition and have great performance!

Her current routine is Oribes Beautiful Color Shampoo and Alchemy Masque as her conditioner, followed by BOB's Shining Armor, Stay + Play, Hi-hydrating oil, and Plentiful—in that order.

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In December of 2023, Amber finally decided to put her health first and retired from behind the chair to get her health back on track and focus on the business side of Alkali. Thanks to her "retirement" and discovering Back of Bottle, she's now reopening her book twice a month! This way, she can still do what she loves most—hair—while maintaining her health and having plenty of time to grow her business.

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Amber 's ideal client is someone who appreciates the artistry of her craft and respects her professional recommendations, which she bases on her clients' lifestyle, likes, dislikes, and personal goals and challenges. She absolutely loves helping people gain confidence and put their best foot forward through their image and style.