Moonshadow Salon & Spa

Horrible customer service! Horrible experience! My daughter made an appointment for color with JD for 9 am. She arrived at 9:03 and the salon was closed. She went to get a coffee and eight minutes later JD was there but told her he didn’t have time to color her hair and that she would have to schedule a new appointment! She had already planned around school and work to book this appointment! She told him her schedule was difficult and asked him to honor the appointment. JD refused and was quite rude to her. He told her to go to another salon down the street which she did and her hair turned out orange. We contacted them to see what they could do to assist now that we had a crying 19 year old with orange hair and they said they wouldn’t help in any way. JD should have been on time for the appointment and respected our daughters time by honoring the appointment the salon had made. If you don’t have time for a color, then don’t book one. Now she’s got to take more time out of her schedule to get the color fixed. We’re extremely unhappy.

Katerina is wonderful and visiting here is always a joy.

After over ten months of growing my hair, I decided it was time to cut most of it off or get a new style. It was one of those decisions I felt inclined to carry out swiftly.
Fortunately Tito was available for an appointment, I know I left for a little bit due to work schedule and been always out of town but now I am back.
My experience was absolutely fantastic from Luis and Tito. Paid tremendous attention to detail throughout the hour he spent working on my hair. He cut it expertly and I am thrilled with the cut.
I highly recommend this gentleman and I love my new hair cut style!

I love each and everyone of the stylist here!!! They’re an artist and shows with each client they have are flawless!!! Can’t say enough good things about them, they know their talent!

It never ceases to amaze me how difficult it is to get a haircut that is even. I had nearly eight inches cut off by Sara and there is easily a 1″ discrepancy from one side to the next. That combined with the fact that I went in looking for a hip, fun cut and came out with a soccer-​mom do has me way less than thrilled about the $ 75 price tag. Just because I’m 45 doesn’t mean I want a boring cut!

I highly recommend this salon! I have been going to Moonshadow for 10+ years and have had my hair done by several different professionals at this salon over the years.
Susanne is now my go-​to person for cuts, trims, color, and highlights!
Try them especially if you are new or shy about coloring your hair – they will get it right the first time.
Moonshadow salon has experienced people who have very reasonable pricing for their services (see the online booking section on their website for exact rates for each stylist and each service).

Love how my hair turned out, wasn’t sure how I wanted my hair, I just wanted something new. I loved the Aveda products that they used on my hair and the friendly and honest customer service that was given to me.

This review is for Katie S. She is AMAZING. I hate spending a ton of money on my hair. I have always come out of extremely expensive salons with minimal satisfaction. Most recently I had a sub-​par ombré/​balayage done at an Emeryville salon that put me out $ 270 (although not to bash that stylist who worked with me, she was incredibly nice and really tried to work with… but when you’re shelling out that much, you expect amazing results… Mine was not amazing)!
Anyway, I initially came in to Moonshadow as a walk-​in to get a hair cut. I have extremely thick, course Asian hair and was looking for a cut that would help get rid of some bulk that tends accumulate, as well as something that would dry easy with little styling necessary. Bless the Heavens above I was paired with Katie. She gave me a totally easy, effortless cut with layers that allowed me to wake up with no-​fuss and go to work looking presentable. I showed her a picture of the type of look I wanted, and she helped capture it while making it really suit my face. cost: $ 50. AMAZING.
We talked about the ombré which, at this moment, I had gotten totally sick of looking at. I told her I was thinking about just letting it grow out, and chopping it off. She suggested low-​lights to help tone it down and break up the huge blocks of color that had been previously painted on. I scheduled my color appt for two weeks out.
Coming back, Katie remembered me, which I just find to be really sweet. She remembered the things we talked about previously. She is just so pleasant to talk to. We chose a color for my lowlight and she spent a great deal of time talking with me while still meticulously weaving in the new color. The result… she gave me exactly what I wanted. My hair now still has a bit of an ombré effect, but is really more natural with some dimension. The color she deposited is beautiful. And my hair now has some lighter pieces interwoven with darker pieces interwoven with my natural hair color. I am totally in love with the result — and it fixed what, in my eyes, was completely unsalvageable color job! And she did all of this for $ 70. I couldn’t believe it. I am now in love with my hair, which is really a feeling I hadn’t experienced in a long time. Katie has made me feel extremely confident, which is exactly what a stylist should do. She is fantastic at her craft, and I give her 5 stars!

I think I should have looked at this salon’s Unilocal page before I went here. I just wanted my hair washed & blow dried.
I came in at 1pm & I spoke with a really nice what seemed to me as a receptionist when I made my appointment. I prepaid for my shampoo blow dry with Tito I believe. ($ 45)
I came in at 1:50pm. I really liked the salon the vibe/​the stylists. I grabbed a magazine & sat down. I finished the magazine it was 2:15pm… waited 5 more minutes then I stood up lol. I walked up to the desk I think one of the stylists sensed I was a little ticked off. Really nice he says he will text him so I sit back down. I finally at 2:35pm decide to leave because I didn’t know when he was supposed to come in /​I was a little disappointed that I wasn’t told when he was actually coming in that day.
I was refunded my money but I really wanted my hair done for tonight. No other place around was available at the time & I had thought everything was taken care of.
I am really disappointed

Sara is AMAZING! I am super particular about my hairdressers (I used to travel 4 hours to get my haircut). I have thick hair, but I like to keep it short and when I found Sara I was thrilled!!! She even did my hair for my wedding. I seriously cannot recommend Sara enough.

Let me start by saying that this review is for the shampoo/​blow dry service only. That said, I think it’s fair to say that, the standard of a salon’s blow dry service reflects how good that salon will be, generally.
I have gotten *scores* of blow dries over the past couple of decades – yes, decades. And yes, scores. I have long, thick hair that is very healthy and looks amazing after a proper salon blow dry. That’s why, of course, I pay the big bucks to come in and have one done – so that I can leave feeling like I «just stepped out of a salon.» (Quotes optional).
So you can imagine my dismay when I walked into this *AVEDA* shop – Aveda, a name known for its incredible wash/​blow dries – and left feeling more than underwhelmed. I had never been in here before and, when I called, the conversation resulted in the person on the other saying – and I quote – «a blow dry at 5p. . hmm, well, all I can do is book you with Sherry, is that OK?» What kind of representation is that? I mean, as a newcomer, I am now on notice that the stylist you are booking me with is somehow lesser than others. Not professional. But I was in a pinch and figured, it’s an Aveda salon, I’m sure any stylist can do a good blow dry.
I was wrong. Sherry was extremely kind – offered me water, gave me a good wash – but she did not know how to blow dry hair. There is a technique that trained stylists use. It involves a round brush, high heat, very fast work (so that the hair follicles don’t dry slowly and create frizz), and a graceful hand that works on section by section of hair, resulting in a «salon fresh» look at the end. That is the only reason a person would pay for a blow dry, and not do it herself! (See: me). So you can imagine my frustration when this blow dry was NONE of the above. She must’ve spent 15 minutes on a 2-​inch section of hair, drying it over and over again; I’m not sure why (?). I had to ask her whether she could turn up the dryer heat, to get moving, bc I knew the rest of my hair was drying out (sans hair dryer), which is disaster when you have long/​thick hair!
After more than an hour – again, why? I get my hair blow dried in 45min at most professional salons – she was still just going over dried sections of hair, causing the hair to completely flatten out. And the kicker? At the end, there already was almost no bounce in the hair – but she went through whatever few limp curls were there, with a comb. The number one rule of a proper blow dry is that you don’t brush/​comb it, bc you have used the round brush to make the big, beautiful curls. Ahhhhh. I had to end the session by asking her – ASKING her – to please stop, it had been almost 1h20min, and that I had to leave.
I dropped another star because I am not happy with the pricing, and do plan to write to the salon about this. Online bookings show Sherry’s blow dry as costing $ 30; when I called, they said blow dries «start at $ 45.» I was ultimately charged $ 45 for a blow dry that I could have done myself, at home. Instead, I’m out an hour and a half and a chunk of change.
Disappointed.

I really like Suzannah Adler at Moonshadow. Her European style and aesthetic is spot on. Highly reocmmended.

I try not to be a narcissistic person, but after my great haircut here I couldnt stop looking at it in the mirror. For $ 40 + tip I’ve never been so satisfied with a haircut. 2 months later and I still think «boy, I look good» (read: the style of haircut lasts for a long time). Bill has great techniques and has lots of stories to share. Will definitely be coming back!!!
Plus, they use Aveeda products!

This place is worth a long trip across town. Sherry is the owner — a precious gem of a person. Her great attitude diffuses throughout this place, and the result is a group of talented hair stylists in a pleasant setting. Most importantly, my kids only allow me to take them to Moonshadow Salon… because it is the best. The neighborhood is quite nice — great restaurants and shopping.

I’m incredibly un-​femalelike in that I hate taking time to do my hair. No standing in front of the mirror for me. Super low-​maintenance describes me well. In fact, most days I will leave the house with wet hair that may have been combed. If I have a good cut, my hair just falls into place and looks A-​OK which is good enough for me (even if I spent 30 minutes styling it, it would only look just a little better than A-​OK.)
Falling into the low maintenance category, I despise paying big bucks for a cut that won’t look good unless I style it, and I avoid haircuts like the plague. This leads me to the reason I love Bill’s haircuts. They last! I can grow them out for 3 to 4 to 5 months, and they still look great. Not so easily said with other cuts… And at $ 40 plus a $ 10 tip, I’m not paying über-​bank for a cut I won’t like in 6 weeks.
No more $ 25 specials for first time customers will woo me (especially when in 6 – 8 weeks, my hair looks ‘meh’). No more excitement from getting cuts at random, snazzy-​looking salons while traveling. I’m sticking to Bill and his $ 40 low-​maintenance cuts. I’ll go at least semiannually, maybe even quarterly.
One note — their online booking system has a couple of bugs that are being worked out. So you may want to book online and call to make sure they recieved your appointment. The system may send you a confimation without booking you on their side 0_​o. This happened to me, but they were still able to accomodate me within 30 minutes of my desired appointment time. (Extra star!)

I was stood up for my appointment!
I had already driven over early on a Saturday morning for my appt. with Tito (first one) and after I had paid, parked and my appointment was 5 minutes away, they called to tell me he wouldn’t be making it. Very poor customer service, especially considering they wouldn’t rebook me for another time that day or that weekend. Unbelievable, will not try again.

I am reviewing Susanne Adler at Moonshadow. I have been going to her for about 4 years now. She is a great haircutter. I have curly hair and it’s hard to find someone who not only knows how to work with it, but also LIKES to work with curly hair. I have so often had the experience where a haircutter blows dry my hair into frizzy «Big Hair» with lots of product and I rush home and wash it out. When I leave Susanne, I don’t want to take a shower because it LOOKS FANTASTIC. Not to mention she is just a great person and I really like her too.
If you have curly hair, go visit Susanne Adler at Moonshadow

It’s been almost ten months since I’ve been to Moonshadow Salon, which is why I hesitate writing a review. But ultimately, my experience there was so awful, I think I *have* to share it. I had come in several times before for a Brazilian Blowout, and had noticed each time that the owner, who was my stylist, never washed my hair clean of the product and restyled it, but rather let me walk out with a head full of chemicals. I, because I am an idiot, didn’t care, because I noticed this made my Brazilian last longer. So, I kept going to Moonshadow until one day I came in and decided I wanted highlights, and was completely honest about my hair’s history. I was told this would be no problem.
Long story short, Bill didn’t compensate for the fact that my hair had been dyed previously and then had grown out about two inches, which I told him. So I ended up with extremely light, blonde roots and ginger hair down the rest of the shaft. Bill said this would even out when he applied the color. Not only was he wrong, but when he realized he was wrong and I told him I didn’t like it, he said his next client had come in and he had to leave. He put a blowdryer in my hand, and (I suppose?) to his credit, agreed to fix it for free if I decided in a couple days that I didn’t like it. Unfortunately, I was leaving to Ireland for a month the next day, and spent the whole time looking like some sort of freak trying, and failing, to fit in with their ginger population.
So he went to attend to his next client, leaving me with soaking wet hair, which I attempted to blowdry because it was the middle of the Berkeley winter outside and I didn’t want to get sick. His wife, also a stylist, came up and sort of looked at me sadly, but didn’t offer to blow dry it for me. Eventually, because my hair is so thick, and I wasn’t given any tools to at least separate the hair into sections, I gave up and took the bus home.
My impression of Bill from his work and what he used to talk about is that he is more of a businessman now than a stylist. He owns several salons, wants to open a restaurant, and apparently has lost the value of individual customer service.
I hesitated writing this review for so long because it truly gives me no pleasure to write bad things about a business, and especially an owner, but I wasted a lot of money and time on a service that I feel was not done adequately or respectfully– and with the plethora of salons in the Berkeley area, I think others would do well to learn from my mistakes and avoid this one. Or at least its owner.

Just a heads up: Jen raised her rates, effective June 1^st.
60-​minute massage = $ 80

Sorry, I have to write this. I think all the rave reviews about Tito are from his personal friends. In the end, he does what HE wants.
We had a discussion about what I wanted. I loved his confidence. My hair wasn’t in dire need of anything drastic, just a trim. I actually liked how it was growing out. I like to think I’m not that picky about my hair. The only thing I stressed was, «whatever you do, don’t cut my bangs straight across.» My hair looked fine when I left, but as soon as I got home and washed and styled it myself I realized he butchered the beautiful layers I had before. Now there was a big chunk just hanging on the side of my head. And my bangs, straight across. The bangs weren’t atrocious, but it wasn’t me. I’m not a 20 something hipster that wants to try and pull that off.
Christine (I think that’s her name-she’s the only one that waxes there) was able to give me a lip and brow wax while I was there. I appreciated that she was able to see me on such short notice but she rushed and did a sloppy job. It barely looked like she did anything to my brows.
I will be returning to my old Aveda salon down in LA when I go back down for a visit at the end of the month. (Glendal Salon Spa) I thought I should find a place in my new neighborhood, but I don’t want to have to go through growing my hair out from a bad cut again.
The key to a good stylist is listening to the client.