By Dathan Kazsuk
Sisters Shelby Vaughn and Ashley Chambers have spent years working in different corners of the beauty industry. Vaughn built her career around hair, while Chambers focused on skin care and facials.
On Friday, July 24, those two specialties will come together when the sisters open Alter Scalp Spa in north Raleigh’s Falls River community.
The new business is not a replacement for either woman’s existing career. Vaughn owns Harlow Hair Extensions & Color, a Triangle salon specializing in extensions and color services. Chambers is the aesthetician behind Skin Haus and The Raleigh Aesthetician, offering customized, results-driven facial treatments from her Rolesville studio.
Alter represents a meeting point between the two.
Scalp-spa treatments combine elements of a salon shampoo, facial, massage, and wellness appointment. Although the concept has become increasingly visible through social media, the sisters’ interest grew beyond simply watching satisfying videos of cascading water and elaborate scalp massages.
Clients were already asking them about it.
Vaughn’s hair clients would bring up the scalp-spa videos they had seen online while sitting at the shampoo bowl. Chambers’ facial clients were asking whether she knew of a nearby place offering similar services. The sisters had also discussed how much they would enjoy visiting one themselves.
Eventually, the repeated questions began to feel like an opportunity.
The timing was not immediate. Vaughn was pregnant when the idea first began taking shape, and both sisters were already managing busy businesses. By late last year, however, they decided the concept made too much sense to ignore.
Vaughn understood hair, scalp care and the salon experience. Chambers understood skin treatments, relaxation and how to create an environment where clients could disconnect from the outside world. Together, they began developing a business that blends both approaches.
Alter Scalp Spa is built around a signature 55-minute service called the Alter Escape. Each appointment takes place in one of 10 private treatment suites and includes a dry scalp massage, nourishing oils, warm waterfall therapy, a double cleanse, scalp exfoliation, and restorative conditioning treatments.
The experience is intended to feel different from a traditional salon appointment. There are no mirrors, no rushed conversations, and no expectation that guests spend the appointment chatting. Hair is towel-dried and finished with a leave-in conditioning treatment rather than blown out and styled, allowing the products to continue working after the service ends.
The 10-room layout also gives Alter something many smaller scalp studios cannot easily offer: the ability for friends to schedule treatments together. Guests still receive their services privately, but they can arrive, relax, and enjoy the experience as a shared outing.
That focus on escape carries throughout the space. Lights remain low in the treatment area, ocean sounds play in the background, and soft floor lighting guides guests through the hallway. The coastal influence is meant to make the hour feel like a miniature vacation—without requiring anyone to leave Raleigh.
The sisters have also developed an Alter hair-care line designed for use during treatments and at home. The collection includes shampoos, conditioners, a scalp serum, a deep-conditioning treatment, a leave-in conditioner and a multipurpose hydrating spray. The products were created to be gentle, color-safe and suitable for a variety of hair types.
Alter is launching with approximately 10 treatment technicians and four front-desk employees, with additional hiring expected as the business grows.
The grand-opening celebration runs Friday, July 24, through Sunday, July 26, and will include a raffle featuring prizes from area businesses. Alter’s regular hours are 10 a.m. – 7 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and 8 a.m. – 9 p.m. Friday through Sunday.
A standard Alter Escape is priced at $145. A limited founding membership offers one treatment each month for $99, priority booking and a rate locked in for the life of the membership.
For Vaughn and Chambers, the new spa is both a natural expansion of their careers and a chance to build something together. After years of finishing one another’s sentences and sharing many of the same ideas, the sisters are now combining two established businesses—and two areas of expertise—under one roof.
