The Moon Salon (Santa Cruz) — Local services in Santa Cruz

I had tried a few different places trying to find a stylist that understood what I wanted- I enjoy unconventional haircuts and it can be really hard to get across what you want if someone doesn't usually do those styles. All I had to do when I showed up was show Ming a picture and they immediately understood what I wanted.

When I mentioned the two cowlicks at the back of my hair, they were able to give me advice on how to minimize them, and also cut my hair in a way that doesn't puff them up. I've never had a stylist before whose actually listened to me when I mentioned the cowlicks and how they need to be accommodated for when cutting.

Have I mentioned yet how this was one of the gentlest wash and cuts I've ever had? I have a lot of ear piercings, and usually stylists leave my ears feeling sore from all the bumping around. Not this time! Both the cut and wash were extremely gentle, which is great for someone like me who has sensitive ears and scalp.

overall the experience was amazing, the price is great and it's fantastic that they have pricing that considers time and difficulty of cut. The atmosphere is very down to earth and isn't chaotic like some salons I've been to.

I would definitely recommend this place if you want an unconventional cut or color, I think they're probably one of the only places in town that could give you a proper mullet if you asked for one. Overall, it was a great experience and I'll definitely be going back for all my hairstyle needs...

My daughter (almost 13) got a haircut from Ming a month ago, and just had her long hair dyed pink this past weekend. It was such a great experience! Ming is kind, knowledgeable, has answered every question, and given us tons of great tips. I’m so grateful for her expertise. Yes, it’s costly. But her prices are totally in line with other salons, especially when you consider this is her business and she’s paying downtown Santa Cruz overhead. We live in an expensive place, and small business owners have to make ends meet too! Worth every penny!

I also didn’t mind at all paying the $65 consultation fee initially, because it was an hour-long consultation that included a mineral-removing treatment, shampoo and conditioner, as well as a color strand test.

Don’t get me wrong—I am not swimming in cash. I’m a teacher! But when I find a local business that provides a great service, I want to support them as much as I can. I highly recommend Ming.

And I also want to give a little shout out to stylist Ashley, who I saw do two cuts and colors while we were there this weekend. She was also very rainbow salon professional and gave her clients exactly what they...

Don’t have profuse enough words to sing Ming’s praises… I came to her with a double-bleached pink hair nightmare about 6 months ago (truly, my hair texture was synthetic Barbie and all different shades of pink & sherbet 😬). She re-treated it and brought it back to (better-than-before-I-dyed-it!) gleaming health within a couple sessions. Since then she’s helped me transition from pink to lovely fun blonde (which I had been dreaming about for a while), and more impressively, without sacrificing any of the hair health we had built before. I’ve also gotten my make-up done with Ming for a professional video & photo shoot, and it was just as spectacular an experience as the hair treatments. I’ve recommended Ming to dozens of friends and everyone who goes to her falls in love… she is a true hair & beauty artist-scientist-genius!! You can absolutely tell that she loves what she does and is living her life calling. Couldn’t...