Monica Ra Salon & Day Spa

Went here after reading the reviews, nervously as I’ve had my hair cut by the same hairdresser in London for the last 3 years. Monica was very professional, quick, and did a beautiful color on my hair exactly like I asked. The shop looks lovely from the outside although rather cluttered on the in, I was slightly intimidated by that but hair salons scare me anyway because you never know if it’s going to go horribly wrong… It didn’t! My hair is beautiful! I love it! Definitely recommend for color.

Monica Ra Salon has a very convient location, in Hawaii Kai. I love both Monica and Amy. When it comes to hair extension, Amy is the best! Just recently got extensions with Real Hair Extensions and love them! They look so real and beautifully natural. Amy’s Brazilian Blowout is absolutely incredible and her prices are very good.

I had the worst hair cutting experience at this establishment. I was referred to her by a family member as she cuts my nieces hair which always looks good.
First she rinsed my hair in cold water not warm water where most salons do. Then she began to wack at my hair with the razor. Then started to cut my hair with the scissors only to get accidentally jabbed an inch away from my eye with the pointy shears. She proceeds to Edward Scissorhands my hair and managed to nick my ear in the process. I was to scared to say anything as I thought she may do more damage. She charged me $ 45.00 for a haircut, ear cut and a face jab. My hair cut usually takes my regular hairstylist 90 minutes. It took her 20 minutes.
Sorry, I will not be returning to her. Maybe she can give my niece a free haircut instead. She gets one star because she was nice to my daughter.

Monica Ra, has been my Hairdresser for over 14yrs. She is a very nice and helpful person and she also knows what she is doing. I have very fine and thin hair and Monica is able to make it look good. She also colors it and it always comes out right. I have never had a complaint about anything. My husband who has very thick hair also goes to Monica and is very happy.
As for Casey T. I think that review is very unfair. She went there one time and then starts complaining. Monica will not ask you any personal questions and concentrates on working on your hair. She also will not treat you like a poor slob. Believe me she doesn’t care if you have money or drive a Mercedes. She is a Professional and does her job well and her charges are reasonable. I can’t believe that anybody would complain like that when going there with Conditioner in the hair, so that it has to be washed and than complain about paying 46. Dollars.
Christa M.

Monica is absolutely best and works magic everytime. I constantly get stopped by strangers here and on mainland to ask about my hair. She performs high end cut but prices are reasonable. Been to all high end salons here and keep going back. Since i live in town, going to hkai is not always convenient but worth the drive. Anytime i go to a town salon, they always compliment the cut. Was in dallas and hairdresser asked me ti write down salon and phone number since she was coming for a visit and wanted to make appointment. Monica also works really fast… cut and complicated color in less than 2 hours.
Wont find anyone better to do color. Burgundy fades and looks dry after a month monica knows how to make it last and healthy. My 18 year old daughter only goes to monica for color after learning hard way from a top salon in honolulu

I had a Living Social for a «Vitamin infused, massage and dermabrasion facial. The only reason Lokelani got more than one star is that the neck and head massage were exceptional. I called for an appointment 6 times and emailed once over a period of two weeks. Except for the final phone call, there was no response for any of the other contacts. When she finally returned my call, she had an appointment for the next day at noon — not the best time for me, but I decided it was best to get it over with.
So, I wasn’t happy, but was prepared to be pleasantly surprised, because I truly wanted the pampering experience. The space in a hair salon bore as much resemble to a spa as Motel 6 does to the Ritz Carleton. The room was TINY, barely large enouh for the table and her seat. Lokelani told me to have a seat on the table. I was not even asked to remove my shoes (which I did). No terry wrap, so my sleeveless scooped neck blouse was smeared with lotion.
The «dermabrasion» consisted of an exfoliating scrub, no microdermabrasion machine in sight. There was no face wash before and no steam. She said she put on a mask, but wiped it off immediately. It didn’t feel like a mask. The rest of the facial consisted of putting different types of cream one on top of the other. She talked the entire time, so there was not a lot of relaxation either.
At the end, I mentioned how hard it had been to get an appointment. She said that text was best or email. I told her I did email, and she didn’t have an answer as to why she didn’t respond to any of my attempts to contact her. If she only wants texts, she should say that on her voice mail. Lokelani needs to work on her professionalism and her esthetician skills. Or maybe, just focus on massage, at which she is really good.

I went to this salon for a facial with Lokelani Spa (they share the space). I was very pleased with the parking, the ease with which I found the salon, as well as my experience. Tasha (with Lokelani) is so personable and sweet, and I loved the products she used on my face. I left with skin that looked smoother and more healthy. Will definitely return!

First off, let me start by saying that I have NEVER in my life written a review. I’m usually a pretty quiet person whom takes everything with a grain of salt. HOWEVER, my recent experience with Monica Ra has led me to the conclusion that the only way to get this weighing frustration off my chest, is to report my own experience on the website that attracted me to this particular salon in the first place.
The morning of my appt. I had called the salon and spoke with Monica. I proceeded to tell her I have very THICK, CURLY hair and I was looking for a place to start getting weekly blowouts. She was friendly on the phone, yet quick. She managed to work me into a 3:30 appt. I asked her if it would be OK for me to come in with deep conditioner already in my hair so that she could just wash it out and blow dry it with a round brush. She didn’t hesitate to say «ok.»
Upon getting to the salon, I realize I’d been crammed in between other clients appointment as it was very busy. She immediately stopped working on the client she was on, washes me hair and sits me under the dryer. Up until this point, I was completely fine. However, Monica spoke merely a few words to me the entire time I was there. I complimented her Haircut and she said «thanks.» That was about it until the end. She treated me as if I had put her out by coming in, sighing and constantly looking at the clock. Once she got me out from under the dryer, she proceeds to blow dry my hair as if she had allowed herself five minutes to complete it. After being HALFWAY blown dry, she gets out a FLATIRON and runs is through thick sections of my wet hair basically cooking out the moisture in my obviously damaged strands. This clearly defeating the purpose of me coming in to have my hair round brushed in the first place instead of further damaging it with a flat iron.
After baking my hair, she continues (by using very small boar head brushes), to roll sections of my hair up into each brush and LEAVING THE BRUSH dangling in my hair until I had a head full of hanging brushes!!! Six to be exact! When she pulled the brushes out, each one was tangled. Because she was going at such a fast speed, she didn’t hesitate to RIP them out… making my hair more of a broken disaster than I have EVER seen. About 20 minutes later and not one sentence between us, I continue to let her proceed hoping maybe she knew some technique that I was unaware of and that she would magically turn this around. To my dismay, she took my cape off… sprayed the disaster with some oil and then had the NERVE To tell me my hair was NOT going to be the price she quoted me on the phone!!! She said it in such a snotty way as to suggest I had not already told her on the phone I had extremely thick, curly hair OR that I had given her ANY hard time at all. I thought for a second she was joking.
I even tipped her because the only option when using a card (which she runs over her iPhone) is to hit the «leave a tip» button with a huge 15%, 20% option… while she holds the screen in front of both our faces and stares at it, making any person with a soul feeling pretty obligated to leave something.
Walking out, I immediately put my hair back up into a bun. It felt like steel wool. Monica OBVIOUSLY had no idea what she was doing with it. When I normally get a blowout, my hair is smooth and feels like silk. I even ran my fingers into my hair against my scalp and my hair was STILL WET!!!
Needless to say, I DO NOT recommend this salon to anyone. I was treated as if I were a burden. Granted I had been out deep cleaning both mine and my fiancés two Mercedes, so I looked rather disheveled at the moment… but I feel as if she treated me like I was some poor slob who just hailed from the ghetto and entered a Hawaii Kai salon. I just thank God I only tested Monica’s talents with a blowout. Her work ethic and personality alone would have kept me away. $ 46 spent… nothing gained. I gave one star because she worked me in quickly, but had I known ahead of time it was just to make a quick buck on another client in a 20 minute window… I would never have booked it. I will say, although I didn’t speak to the other stylists, the clients they were working on looked nice and they were talking to them and cheerful. This review only reflects on Monica specifically.

Four stars for the right kind of hair. And for being very reasonably priced.
Monica did a great job cutting my 3 year old boy’s hair from long curly hair into a faux hawk. Very cute and for only $ 12!!! That I would give her 4 stars for only because I needed to do some cleaning up of his hair when I got home, but for $ 12 I was not complaining. i have had my hair cut here a few times and I always think the cut is alright when I leave. It’s never terrible and her pricing is reasonable. I never LOVE it though.:/ I think she does amazing cuts on certian hair but not really knowledgeable when cutting different types of hair. I am Caucasian with very fine wavy hair and the cut always leaves my hair flat with no movement. Actually the layers she gives my hair look like I have extensions hanging out the bottom of my real hair. Pretty bad. :/​My mother in– law (Japanese straight hair) goes to Monica and her hair always looks wonderful! I will continue to take my son to see her and I will have to go elsewhere.
Oh yeah… don’t forget your check book or cash because that is the only way you can pay here.

Monica is wonderful … used to get my haircut from her many moons ago when she was at another salon ! So glad I found her again … love that she is quick, professional, and reasonable :)

I’ve been going to see Monica for a while. I lived in town and in Kailua but I drive all the way to Hawaii Kai to see her because she’s that good! There isn’t anyone out there that can do full highlights or highlight retouch in a one shot process, shampoo, dry, haircut and quick style in ONE hour! And I’ve got dark hair so there’s plenty of room to make mistakes like orange!!! Monica gets me to the exact blonde I need it whether a level 8 or a level 11. She gives me a great cut too. This last time, a few days ago, I told her I wanted to keep the length but I knew I had to get it trimmed. I saw her cutting away but in the end, it looked like I didn’t get it cut at all! I love my length and how healthy my hair feels and I didn’t have to sacrafice the look. A Korean stylist and Vidal Sasson graduate in Europe = PERFECTION! :) BTW, I get a ton of compliments all the time from other women. They wish they could have my highlights!

Bought a LivingSocial deal for a facial at Monica Ra Salon. The facial was very good. I loved how the esthetician Luxann started off with a head and neck massage. She was very good at letting me know what she thought would be good for me and her technique was top-​notch, down to the hot stones to improve circulation. Only loses one star because most places give you a robe or other garment to change into. This place doesn’t do that and my blouse got very wet and it was difficult for Luxann to include my neck and chest in the facial because of my blouse… a little awkward. I would definitely come back to Luxann but next time I’d be better prepared.

Needed a GOOD cut so I decided to give Monica Ra Salon & Day Spa a try. All I can say is WOW! She did a fantastic job on my hair (asian hair) and I’ve already made a second appointment to have my hair colored. I don’t have any doubt that Monica will do a fab color job also. Thanks for taking me on such short notice Monica! Aloha, Linda

I highly recommend Monica! She cares about her work and how you look. She will honestly tell you if she feels a style will not work for you. The salon is always clean and all the workers are friendly.

I saw Peggy for a cut and highlight thanks to a Living Social deal. It was $ 70 for the package ($ 145 regular price). The highlight job was quick and good, and the cut was OK — it sort of came out with just two stark layers in the back, and it could have used more subtle blending. For the price, though, it’s fine. Four stars for Peggy!
I’m only giving the salon three stars, however, because every time I walk in there, Monica glares at me rudely and NEVER cracks even the faintest of smiles. She comes across as very snooty, which is silly considering that this is a very basic salon!
Anyhow, back to Peggy. Typically, I’ve spent $ 200 and up for these services and I have been dying to find a cheaper alternative. I was really pleased with Peggy’s work. She gets the job done and doesn’t insult you with astronomical prices. Hair’s important, but at the end if the day, it’s still just hair.
The salon is decent with mostly middle-​aged to older clientele. Peggy is pretty no-​frills. She didn’t talk much, but focused on her work. I was in and out in under 2 hours, even though she ran late with the client before me. There was no fancy head and neck massage, no coffee or tea offered (although I saw a pot there), nothing beyond the basic service. But honestly, if that means I can get my hair done well, fast, and for a reasonable price, I couldn’t care less! Thanks Peggy for keeping it real. I’ll very likely be back… for Peggy, not for the owner’s scary glares!

My Landlady has been going to Monica since before she had her own shop, so I took my boyfriend there for a trim. She did such a great job for him and it was quick and affordable! It was such a relief since his hair is SO difficult to cut (apparently since nearly every person butchers it) but Monica handled it with ease! The hair cut he got not only looks great now, but it was cut so it will look good even in a year. In fact the first thing my Landlady said to me when she found out that we went to Monica was that she loved her because her haircuts ‘aged gracefully’. We felt that she took the time for us but was extremely efficient at the same time. She suggested some products for his hair, but didn’t try and sell it to us (although she clearly had some). I’m going to be going to her when it’s time for my hair cut too! I can’t wait :)

I’ve been going to Monica for years!
I don’t trust many people to cut my hair, as I had it short for about 10 years! I had a couple of bad experiences with others and always returned to her and now stick with her only!
I’ve had short hair like a boy, a graduated bob with bangs, without bangs, shoulder length «friends» style, and now I’m growing it out for a new look. She knew this, so at my last cut, she made long layers and it’s been about 2 months since I’ve seen her, but it’s growing out so nicely and that’s when you know you got a good cut!
The thing I like is, I bring a photo from a magazine and she can do it! She takes pride in her work and wants you to look good. If she thinks it doesn’t match your face shape, she will tell you as it is. That’s what I like about her! No sugar coating there.
She is quick and does a great job. That’s what I like most about Monica, because, I’ll have my son with me and he normally can’t sit for very long. In 20 minutes, I can be out of there with a new look and I always feel good leaving her salon. I also try to wash my hair before going in, so she doesn’t have to wash it for me and that saves on some costs for me.
I also like that we don’t have to talk the entire time. There’s a comfortable silence and I like that you don’t feel like you have to force a conversation.

I go to Amy for the Brazilian Blowout (BB) and I love it. Amy is a wonderful person with so much talent; my hair has never looked healthier! I normally have very thick, coarse frizzy/​wavy Asian hair. I’ve been told I look like an Ewok or a Chia pet when I don’t blowdry my hair.
My first Brazilian Blowout was in March 2010. I wash my hair every single day so even though it’s supposed to last 12 weeks, my first BB seemed to last only about 8 weeks. My big mistake was this: when I went on a trip to California a week after the treatment, I didn’t bring my sulfate-​free shampoo, which is what helps protect the hair from losing the treatment. I used the hotel samples which is probably the worst thing to use on BB treated hair.
My second Brazilian Blowout was in June 2010. This time I made sure that I ONLY used the sulfate free shampoos/​conditioners (and it doesn’t have to be Brazilian Blowout brand, there are many sulfate-​free shampoos and conditioners that work great with the BB treatment). This time the BB treatment really held on to my hair, throughout the hot humid summer. It cuts my blowdrying time down to nothing the first few weeks… then down to about 5 – 10 minutes the second month… and about 10 – 15 minutes the third month. Normally my hair takes 30+ minutes to dry nicely.
It’s been 3 months now and I don’t really feel like I need another treatment yet, so the 2^nd treatment definitely lasted much longer (despite my daily hair washings!).
As the other reviewers stated, it takes about 2 hrs, my hair comes out nice and shiny/​sleek, but still with body. I’ll be back soon!

Just went back to Amy for another Brazilian Blowout and yet again it is wonderful. And of course Amy is also wonderful to work with and super friendly. I walked in looking like a chia pet and walked out with buttery shiny hair.
My hair was much shorter this time so the bill runs a little lower than last time when I had much longer hair.
The last Brazilian Blowout lasted pretty well about 2 months and in the third month I could still tell it was there (my hair still dried faster, but not as great as when you first get it!).
Amy also can put a slight bend in the hair so your hair isn’t totally stick straight and it’s the best thing every.
Highly recommended.
But just remember: no credit cards.