Service with a View

Palisades-Raised Peter Lamden Opens a Salon in Santa Monica Canyon

By PARKER KESTON| Intern

How many haircuts have you had in your lifetime? In most cases, too many to count, right?

Now, how many haircuts have you had looking out onto the blue Pacific Ocean while being taken through a carefully curated and crafted experience?

Peter Lamden Salon, opened in 2022 in Santa Monica Canyon by hairdresser and Palisades-raised Peter Lamden, emulates that exact haircut, ocean-view and all.

Raised in El Medio Bluffs, Lamden attended Marquez Charter Elementary, Paul Revere Charter Middle and Palisades Charter High school before departing to attend college and build his career in hairdressing.

“I started doing hair when I was 26 years old,” Lamden explained to the Palisadian-Post. “I was living in Santa Monica when I started my career at a salon in Beverly Hills, which was, in my mind and at that time, the best place you could work at in this business. So where I wanted to be wasn’t even a concept in my mind, yet I was where I felt like I was supposed to be, and where I felt like I needed to be to build the career and the clientele I wanted.”

The salon in Beverly Hills—run by renowned hair stylist Chris Mcmillan—was Lamden’s homebase for approximately 10 years. There he learned not only the craft of cutting hair, but also the skill of working with high-end clients.

Finally in 2021, Lamden felt it was time to make the shift to opening his own service in the Palisades. He said he knew that the area where he spent his formative years would be the best choice of location when taking the risk of opening his own salon.

“[The Palisades] has always been this idyllic little town to me,” Lamden said. “I was born and raised there, but I was still always very aware that it was very unique and special. It was like the one corner of Los Angeles that always felt like it could just be any little town in America… and my time away from the Palisades made it even more special in my nostalgic memory.”

Lamden began the planning process for opening the salon during the peak of COVID-19, initially looking to set up shop in a shutdown bathing suit shop in Santa Monica Canyon. Planning to partner with a colorist friend of his, he was going to rent the space and build it into a small, hidden Palisades salon. However, Lamden ultimately let that opportunity go due to the inconsistencies of COVID lockdowns.

Approximately one year later, Lamden had a newborn daughter and the added responsibility made him cease looking for additional major commitments. However, out of the blue, a mutual friend contacted Lamden with an opportunity to view a potential salon space in a nondescript exterior building Lamden had simply been driving by his entire life.

But a tour of the space showed off a rooftop deck, fireplace and ocean views, and next thing he knew, Lamden saw the future.

“The minute I walked in, I just saw the view outside and the potential that was inside,” Lamden said. “I was equally excited and also immediately terrified, because I was like … I have to do this. This space is so unique. If I don’t take this off, I’ll never find something like it. It came at a time where I wasn’t looking or even really hoping for it. But it was one of those opportunities that feels so right, you can’t say no.”

Still, Lamden said he was nervous. He knew the biggest risk of opening his own salon was not the cost but completely moving areas, losing customers and potentially having to rebuild his clientele. But when he began feeling out his long-term clients, he said he was happily surprised by their encouragement, positive reactions and willingness to move with him.

“These people are clients, but I also wasn’t giving enough credit for the fact that … I had been cutting their hair for 10-plus years, and I care about them and they care about me,” Lamden said. “The first reaction I got more often than not was people saying, ‘I’m so proud of you, going off on your own was a pivotal part of my career. You are 100% making the right move, and you can 100% count on me to be there.’ That was really surprising.”

With this newfound confidence, Lamden reimagined the process of curating his clients’ individual experiences at his new salon. Previously, he was only able to control what happened in his chair, but when designing, crafting and opening his own salon, the amount of control one has over the overall experience is completely changed.

“I was really excited about being able to curate their entire experience from the minute they park and walk in,” Lamden described. “What do they see? What do they smell? What do they hear? How do they feel when they’re sitting there waiting for their appointment? Start to finish, the experience gets to be exactly what I would want it to be for myself and providing that to clients has been the most rewarding part [of running my own salon].”

Peter Lamden Salon, located at 100 W Channel Road, is open for business and looking for new clientele to try Lamden’s haircuts.

“I want to invite anybody in to participate in an experience that I don’t think exists elsewhere in my industry,” Lamden said. “From the uniqueness of the location and experience, to the view and the design of the studio, nothing makes me and my clients happier than a perfect haircut, style or color while sitting here looking at the ocean every day.”

For more information or to book an appointment, visit peterlamden.com.