By Flora Tsapovsky
Alchemy, slivered between two restaurants (San Rafael Joe’s and Fenix) on San Rafael’s Fourth Street, is easy to miss when you walk by—but a closer look reveals big windows, hints of ‘chic’ and a beautiful sign.
Open since June of 2016, Alchemy is the baby of Devon Foley Keane, Dr. Edmond Zingaro and Karen Cohen, a registered nurse. Foley Keane was born in San Anselmo and has a background in design and the apparel industry. “I moved back from Australia and teamed up with my partners to create this unique concept,” she says. “I saw a hole in the wellness market and thought it could be done in a more connected way, that was more encompassing in all areas that actually make us feel well.”
The salon and clinic offers a myriad of beauty and cosmetic services, from waxing to Botox to peels, and prides itself on a holistic approach. “We have taken the traditional ‘medical spa’ and combined it with the elements that spoke to us personally,” Foley Keane says. “We wanted to target the whole person, to address the issues we seem to all have in common … to offer an all-encompassing spread of treatments that truly serve the aspect that wellness plays in our lives, from the inside and out.”
Alchemy’s popular B12 push infusions are geared to inject the skin with the vitamin, bi-weekly or monthly. “B12 serves the body in so many amazing ways,” gushes Foley Keane. “It boosts the immune system, nourishes, detoxifies and rejuvenates, as well as targeting specific goals like facilitating weight loss, increased energy, improved focus.”
Other beloved treatments are broadband light photofacials. “Our clients are active Californians with a love of the outdoors, but are also concerned with sun damage and proactively preventing pre-cancerous lesions from growing,” says Foley Keane.
“We ask each client that comes through our door what specifically concerns them about how they’re feeling, how they are aging, what they see when they look in the mirror every morning,” Foley Keane continues. “We ask about the client’s desires—are they after immediate results-driven treatments that are measurable in the moment? Are they after a long-term plan for prevention in aging? Are they fatigued? Sun damaged? Are they interested in a postpartum mommy makeover? Do they simply want their mustache gone? Maybe they are just tired of shaving their backs? Sometimes it’s the little things that make a huge difference.”
It’s hard to disagree with that.—F.T.
Alchemy, 925B Fourth Street, San Rafael; 415/295-7953; alchemymarin.com.
