Salon of the Month: Salt Strands

Like so many before her, Val Plunk sought to create that which did not exist. Having been primarily focused on extensions and color for 20 years, she had a picture in her mind of the perfect work environment for herself and like-minded artists—but she hadn’t laid eyes on it anywhere but in her own mind’s eye. “I’d describe it as laid-back luxury,” she says of the atmosphere she eventually put into real form at Salt Strands in San Clemente, California, in 2019. “Shocking, I know. I’m telling you, though, ‘laid-back lux’ is a way of life. The reason why this branding works so well is because it’s 100-percent authentic to who I am. It works for an attitude, a service mantra, a hair aesthetic, an interior design direction—the list goes on.”