GROOMING : Haircut Hilarity : Lucy in the Sky salon clips hair on the move and leaves her worried little clients laughing.

If going to the dentist ranks dead last on a list of things kids like to do, second from the bottom is probably getting a haircut.

For one thing, barbers make you sit still. For another, they soak your head and pull on your hair.

Never fear, little ones, Lucy Williams is here. Lucy in the Sky that is, owner of the zaniest haircutting salon for kids between the San Fernando Valley and who knows where.

Scissors in hand, dressed as Minnie Mouse, a California Raisin or in a wild creation of her own, Lucy hasnever met a kid whose hair she couldn’t cut.

“We never ask children to sit still. We cut hair in motion,” she said, showing a few nicks as proof that she points the scissors at her own fingers, not at a squirming child. One time Lucy said she played with a little girl for two hours to gain her trust before beginning to snip.

To avoid tears about shampooing, Lucy sprays the hair with water and blows bubbles around the room from the tiny soap bottle she wears on a cord like a necklace.

For the most part, children hardly notice what Lucy’s doing. They’re too busy checking out their surroundings. “It’s a mix between Disneyland, Pee-wee Herman’s playhouse and the Wizard of Oz,” Lucy said of her salon.

Even before stepping through the white picket fence and up to the door, a visitor gets a clear message--from the bubbles floating by, the tree “growing” plastic apples, the window decorated with a scene from the Wizard of Oz, and Godzilla climbing out of a tree stump--that this will be something different.

Inside, every square inch of walls and ceiling is decorated. In one small room, the ceiling is painted with tropical vines. The snowflakes and angels hanging amid the parrots seem normal here.

The ceiling of the next room is covered with photos of Lucy’s young clients, sporting not only new haircuts but also Mickey Mouse ears and Groucho Marx noses.

Festooned on the walls are a life-size Batman cutout, an inflatable Roger Rabbit, a cuckoo clock, a flashing signal light, trolls, dinosaurs and signs reading “Looneyville,” “Relax” and “Reality is for those who lack imagination.”

“It’s like a child’s bedroom--lots of junk everywhere. I think that’s why they’re comfortable,” said Pam Fontana, Lucy’s associate. Dressed in a Snow White costume, she was cutting the hair of Zachary Teal, 4, who was oblivious to her activity as he watched a video of “The Little Mermaid.”

Christopher Montgomery, 7, readied himself for his turn by lining up five battery-run video games on a tray in front of him. “I hope you’re still here when I’m grown up,” he said to Lucy.

Courtney Klein, 10, who was having her long blond bangs trimmed, said of the salon: “It’s fun, neat. They style hair well and it’s truly exciting.” Bart Simpson and Ernest talking dolls are her favorites among the toys that seem to multiply like bunnies in the shop.

A Phonies booth with messages from George Burns, Dolly Parton, Ronald Reagan and Marilyn Monroe may appeal more to the adults who also frequent Lucy’s. They obviously feel at home in the salon and often answer the phone for Lucy as they wait their turn.

“We come here and spend the day,” said one client, Kristy Montgomery, 27, as she swept up the hair on the floor.

Anita Specht, 33, enjoys the salon, too. “First I brought the kids. Then my husband came for a flattop, and then I started coming for a perm. It’s fun, it’s hilarious.”

Laura Studarus, 7, said, “It’s weird. It has crazy things.”

Fun, hilarious, weird, crazy. Lucy loves to hear those words used to describe her salon. “My dream is to allow a child to be a child in this stressed-out world,” she said. “I’ve seen a lot of abuse, and if I can give one child half an hour of happiness, I’d be happy. For others, it’s just something for their memory banks.” Her salon is also “for adults who need to be kids.”

She helps, too, by participating in such community activities as the Cut-a-Thon for AIDS, the annual Art-in-the-Park festival for children, visiting schools on picture days to comb children’s hair, and organizing an anti-lice project.

Lucy has worked as a hairdresser for 14 years, but opened her own shop just four years ago. “In pursuit of this quest,” she was a waitress on two jobs on the side until she had enough toys to fill the salon. She’s never stopped buying.

Pam, Lucy’s associate, describes herself and Lucy as “toy-aholics.” “We’ve been known to close the shop when a doll show comes to town.”

* WHERE AND WHEN: Lucy in the Sky is located at 20 N. Fir St. in downtown Ventura. Haircuts for kids are $10, adults $12. Perms and weavings are also available. The salon is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from “early in the morning to late in the evening,” Lucy says. Call 652-1988 for an appointment.