Ela foi ao salão cedo para fazer um penteado simples para a festa.

Here, foi means went. It is the preterite (simple past) form of ir = to go.

So:

• ela foi = she went

A common point of confusion is that foi can also be a form of ser = to be.
But in this sentence, because it is followed by ao salão, it clearly means went.

That is true: Portuguese often leaves out the subject pronoun when it is clear from the verb.

So this sentence could also be:

• Foi ao salão cedo para fazer um penteado simples para a festa.

However, ela is still perfectly natural. It may be used:

• for clarity
• for emphasis
• because this is a standalone sentence and the speaker wants to make the subject explicit

So ela is not required, but it is not strange.

Ao is a contraction of:

• a
  • o = ao

In more traditional/standard grammar, the verb ir often takes the preposition a:

• ir a algum lugar = to go to some place

So:

• foi ao salão = went to the salon

In everyday Brazilian Portuguese, you may also hear:

• foi no salão
• foi para o salão

Those are very common in speech, but foi ao salão is very standard and polished.

Yes, in this context salão means a beauty salon / hair salon.

By itself, salão can have other meanings, such as:

• a large room
• a hall
• a salon

But because the sentence mentions fazer um penteado, the meaning here is clearly hair salon / beauty salon.

In Brazil, people often say simply:

• salão

when they mean:

• salão de beleza

Cedo means early.

In this sentence:

• Ela foi ao salão cedo = She went to the salon early

It is an adverb, so its position can be somewhat flexible. For example:

• Ela foi cedo ao salão
• Cedo, ela foi ao salão

These are also possible, though Ela foi ao salão cedo sounds very natural.

Literally, fazer means to do / to make.
But in this context, fazer um penteado is a normal Portuguese expression meaning:

• to have a hairstyle done
• to get one’s hair styled
• literally, to do a hairstyle

Even if the hairdresser is the one doing it, Portuguese often uses fazer in this kind of situation.

This is similar to other common expressions such as:

• fazer as unhas = to get one’s nails done
• fazer a barba = to shave / get a shave

So yes, it literally uses make/do, but the natural English meaning is closer to get a simple hairstyle done.

Penteado means a hairstyle, especially a styled or arranged one.

It is more specific than just hair (cabelo).
So:

• cabelo = hair
• penteado = hairstyle / hair arrangement / styled hair

In this sentence, um penteado simples suggests something like:

• a simple hairstyle
• a simple hairdo
• not a very elaborate style

Yes. In Portuguese, adjectives often come after the noun.

So:

• um penteado simples = a simple hairstyle

That word order is completely normal.

Sometimes adjective position can change nuance, but here the basic post-noun position is the most natural one.

The two instances of para do different jobs:

1. para fazer um penteado simples
   = in order to do/get a simple hairstyle

2. para a festa
   = for the party

So the first para introduces purpose:

• She went early to get a hairstyle done.

The second para shows the occasion or intended use:

• The hairstyle was for the party.

Using para twice like this is completely normal.

Portuguese often uses definite articles more than English does.

So:

• para a festa = for the party

This sounds natural and expected in Portuguese.

Leaving out the article here would usually sound incomplete or unnatural in standard usage.

Not necessarily. In context, foi ao salão para fazer um penteado normally suggests that she went to the salon to have a hairstyle done there, most likely by a professional.

Portuguese often allows this kind of wording without explicitly saying who performs the action.

If you wanted to make it clearer that someone else did it, you could say something like:

• Ela foi ao salão cedo para que fizessem um penteado simples para a festa.

But that is less natural for everyday speech. The original sentence is the normal way to say it.

A very natural casual spoken version would be:

• Ela foi no salão cedo pra fazer um penteado simples pra festa.

Changes:

• ao → no in everyday speech
• para → pra in informal speech
• para a festa → pra festa is also common informally

So the original sentence is correct and standard, while this version sounds more conversational.

Yes. It follows a very common Portuguese pattern:

• Subject + verb of motion + place + time + purpose + final detail

Breakdown:

• Ela = subject
• foi = went
• ao salão = to the salon
• cedo = early
• para fazer um penteado simples = to get a simple hairstyle done
• para a festa = for the party

This kind of structure is very useful to learn because you can reuse it easily:

• Ele foi ao médico cedo para fazer exames.
• Nós fomos ao shopping para comprar roupa para o casamento.

So this sentence is a good model for talking about:

• going somewhere
• when you went
• why you went
• what the result was for