Southern Roots Salon & Spa in Chattanooga: Color Specialization and Natural Hair Expertise
Southern Roots Salon & Spa is a mid-sized salon and day spa on the South Shore that specializes in color work, balayage, and textured hair, with a smaller treatment menu of massage and facials available alongside hair services.
What Southern Roots actually is
Southern Roots operates as a hybrid: a full-service hair salon with an adjoining spa. The salon side seats roughly 8 to 10 stations and employs stylists ranging from entry-level to master colorists. The spa area offers massage and facial treatments in private rooms. The business has been located in its current South Shore space for over a decade and draws both color clients and people seeking hair care advice for curly and coily textures.
Hair services and pricing
Color services dominate the menu. A single-process color starts at $60 and runs to $85, depending on length and hair density. Balayage and highlights begin at $90 and extend to $150 or more for full-head work on longer hair. Corrective color, which addresses previous dye jobs or brassiness, carries a consultation fee of $25, applied toward the service if the client books. Root touch-ups run $50 to $70.
Cuts are priced between $35 and $50 depending on stylist level; appointments with master stylists cost more. Extensions (tape-in and sew-in) start at $200 for installation and vary based on hair quality and length. Deep conditioning treatments, often paired with color work, cost $30 to $45.
The salon specializes in textured hair care. Blow-dry services for curls and coils cost $35 to $50. Some stylists offer styling consultations for natural hair at $40, which covers product recommendations and technique guidance.
Pricing is not posted publicly; call ahead for a full menu and to confirm current rates, as color materials costs fluctuate seasonally.
How Southern Roots compares to other Chattanooga hair salons
Southern Roots differs from chain salons like Great Clips and SuperCuts by offering color work and textured-hair expertise that those venues do not provide. Those chains serve cut-and-style needs at $20 to $35 walk-in rates but lack the knowledge infrastructure for specialized color or curly hair.
Among independent salons, Southern Roots tilts toward color and texture whereas competitors like Riverside Salon focus more broadly on all service types without a particular specialty. If color correction or textured-hair work is your priority, Southern Roots' dedicated expertise justifies booking an appointment weeks ahead rather than walking in. If you want a quick, affordable cut and basic styling, Riverside or a chain will serve you better.
Southern Roots' spa add-on distinguishes it from salons that offer hair only. A $65 massage or $55 facial can be bundled with a hair appointment on the same visit, which suits people seeking a partial spa day without committing to a standalone spa visit.
Who Southern Roots suits and does not suit
Southern Roots is ideal for people with textured hair seeking stylists trained in curly or coily patterns, people wanting color work done by experienced colorists rather than generalists, and anyone balayaging for the first time who values a paid consultation beforehand.
It does not suit people wanting walk-in availability or quick cuts. Appointments are required, and wait times for popular stylists can exceed four weeks during peak seasons (spring and early summer). If you need a same-day cut or prefer chain-salon efficiency, look elsewhere.
What a first visit involves
Book by phone or through the salon's website. A first-time color client should expect a 15-minute consultation before the stylist begins, during which you and the colorist discuss tone, maintenance cost, and touch-up frequency. This conversation prevents costly corrections later. If you have textured hair, arrive with clean hair free of product so the stylist can assess curl pattern and porosity accurately.
Plan to spend 2 to 3 hours if you are having color plus a cut. Texture consultations alone take 45 minutes to an hour. Payments are accepted by card and cash; a tip of 18 to 20 percent is customary.
Hours, parking, and logistics
Southern Roots is open Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and closed Sunday and Monday. Verify hours by calling ahead, as salon hours sometimes shift seasonally or for owner scheduling.
The salon has dedicated off-street parking in its South Shore lot, typically with 4 to 6 spaces. Street parking is available on nearby blocks if the lot is full. The location is accessible by public transit via CARTA Route 22.
Southern Roots fills a real gap in Chattanooga for color work and natural-hair knowledge that most salons do not attempt to offer at scale, making it worth the upfront planning and booking time.
